This is one of the reports from Prague, Czech Republic, by an overseas student journlist team of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).

rague has four big football stadiums and dozens of playgrounds. “You could play football everywhere here.

Lawns with small goals at opposite ends are perfect,” one local Czech said.

“Nearly 98 percent of young guys in my school love football,” a local school student Luke Suto said.

Compared with Prague, Shanghai has 90 youth football special schools, which counts the most in China.

“Playing football is now becoming a popular sport among Chinese schools,” You Songhui, the secretary-general of Shanghai School Football League, said.

Letna Park, one park for football practice and other outdoor sport activities, is almost opposite a stadium called Generali Arenaof. This stadium is the home court of AC Sparta Prague, which is one of the most famous professional football clubs in Czech.

There is a group of around 500 members on facebook, which is called “Letna Park football players”. Their group introduction writes as followings:

We are a bunch of football players all ages and from different countries as well as Czechs, girls and boys. We play for fun, stay in shape, sweat, none competitive, none violent, stay healthy, get that smoke out of your lungs, run away from the doctor. Make new friends, have a beer after the game, chat and have more fun.

In Doosan Arena stadium Plzen, lots of football fans were drinking beer while watching games. A large beer factory is even next to the stadium called Pilsener Urquell.

“Football culture is not only a matter of sporting competition but also a matter of cheers with friends,” Luke Suto said.

As the motto of FC Victoria Plzen (the champion team of 2015 Czech’s Supercup) shows, “football is a game for people”.

All the members of P.I.G, which is an amateur club founded in 1980 in Prague, range in age from twenties to seventies. The eldest member, Pavel Sulek, is 79, who has just completed 700-km bicycle ride.

“Some of them (P.I.G. members) have played football together for more than 35 years. Jan Trojan and I are freshmen,” Vlado Drabek said.

P.I.G. members usually play in group twice or three times per week. “We play even in winter … on the snowfield of Letna Park,” Jan said.

In order to be on time for playing in P.I.G, Vlado sometimes changes his work schedule in his youth. “This may not annoy my boss because I am the boss of myself,” he said in smile.

However, not everyone is as lucky as Vlado. Zdenek Mzourek said: “I’m afraid I cannot play often with my friends as I used to, because I have much work to do.”

“As for the Czech’s younger generation, they tend to not have a life filled with work,” Jan Rybar said.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has spent 310,000 euros on health care between 2013 and 2014, according to its financial report.

“The Prague’s government, Football Association of the Czech Republic, and the UEFA spend much money every year on the unprofessional football industry,” Tomas Paclik, the owner of the FC Victoria Plzen said,

“They have spent the money to build stadiums and support amateur clubs and games.”

In Letna Park, apart from several natural flat lawn, there's one standard playground which is funded by the Prague’s government and European Union, is free for use by neighborhood schools or by anyone when these schools take off.

The Chinese Football Association is also trying to improve the public passion and participation in football. The finals of national amateur football championships started August 8. Only in Shanghai division, the championships called I Love Football drew more than 270 teams and 3,000 players.

P.I.G. member Vlado Drabek said that, although he has played football for more than 50 years, he never thinks about becoming a professional football player.

He said: “I enjoy playing football by myself. I think it is much better to lifelong playing than playing for only 20 years.”