The decision-making and implementation of sports policy in rural China : a case study of Rongjiang county

In the context of national policies such as rural revitalisation and national fitness in mainland China, Rongjiang, a poverty-stricken county located in Guizhou Province, has taken the lead in grasping the direction of the policy and vigorously developing mass sports. Taking advantage of the popularity of football among the local residents for this sport, the local government has invested a lot of resources in sports facilities and sports activities such as football stadiums and football leagues, which has made the football in Rongjiang become a feature of rural sports in the country and even in the world, and has successfully revitalised the economic development of the county through the development of sports tourism and other related industries. Taking Rongjiang as a typical case, this study focuses on a core research question: How did the Rongjiang government interact with the society for the development of the Village Football Super League? Through the theoretical guidance of public policy decision-making and implementation, this study adopts the research method of typical case study analysis and in-depth interviews with residents and government staff in Rongjiang County, which is dedicated to achieving two research objectives: firstly, to understand the ways in which the government of Rongjiang interacts with the society regarding the development of sports in the county. Secondly, to identify how government behaviour influences the development of mass sports in terms of the formulation and implementation of sports policies. With these considerations, it is the ultimate aim of this study to use the well-conducted mass sports in Rongjiang as a case study, based on the fully discussed theoretical foundations and the collected primary materials, this study summarises the model structure of Rongjiang's development of the county economy through sports, then structure a pathway for mass sports development that can be replicated in rural areas.