China adopts 'Field of Dreams' approach to encourage youth (Reuters)

China plans to have more than 70,000 soccer pitches available for everyone to use by 2020 as the country continues to map out ways of revitalizing the sport, the government said on Tuesday. President Xi Jinping is an avid soccer fan and China is in the midst of a plan to turn its national team into one of the world's best by 2050, though the sport has been damaged by match-fixing scandals and poor performances on the field. China has worked since 2009 to promote grassroots soccer and crush illegal gambling syndicates but admitted last year its efforts were still lagging.