A render of a new base of the Zhongnan Codion Football Club in Haimen [Photo/ntjoy.com]

Construction on a standard football field, a new base of the Zhongnan Codion Football Club, and a football fans community recently started in Haimen, as part of the county-level city's football town project, local media reported.

The government of Haimen has been promoting the development of children’s football since 2011. Its football town project was listed among the first batch of special towns in Jiangsu province.

The town covers a planned area of 3.1 square kilometers and receives more than 5 billion yuan ($724.5 million) in investment. It consists of six areas - a football education center, a training center, a football club, an entrepreneurship center, a reception center, and a football themed park.

So far, six standard football fields and a rehabilitation center have been completed, the Jiangong Lake Tech Entrepreneurship Center has started operating, and the Jiangong Lake Ecological Park, the football club and the fans community have begun construction.

Within three to five years, the sponsors, Zhongnan Codion Sports Culture Company, and the administration of Haimen Economic and Technological Zone aim to build the town into a tourist attraction centered on football and a world-class training center for children.

The Zhongnan Codion Football Club was founded in 2011 and has trained football players for the national team for the past nine years.

The new base in the football town features a professional venue for football games, high-end sports-themed hotels and an array of supporting facilities, which aims to play a key role in promoting the city’s development of the sports industry.