A Three-Dimensional Collaborative Study of the China Women's Football Reform and Development Plan (2022–2035) from the Perspective of Policy Tools

Abstract

To critically assess the intrinsic potential and structural characteristics of the “Women’s Football Reform and Development Plan of the People’s Republic of China (2022–2035)” in both its design and implementation, this study draws on public policy instrument theory and sports development theory to construct a three-dimensional coordinated analysis framework of “policy instruments–policy goals–policy actors.” Using NVivo 12.0 software, we systematically coded 106 policy provisions in the Plan and, through content analysis, conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses of the distribution of instrument types, the tendency of goal support, and the degree of actor participation. First, policy instruments were classified into supply-type, environment-type, and demand-type, and each category’s frequency and functional characteristics were coded and tallied. Second, five goal dimensions—elite football, campus football, grassroots football, football industry, and football culture—were used to reveal the relative resource emphasis within the document. Third, from the perspectives of government, social organizations, and enterprises, we evaluated each actor’s role and responsiveness within the Plan. Findings indicate that environment-type instruments dominate (50.9%), focusing on strategic planning, institutional guarantees, and incentive mechanisms; supply-type instruments account for 38.7%, emphasizing talent development, infrastructure, and funding; while demand-type instruments constitute only 9.4%, such as market investment, social capital activation, and service outsourcing, reflecting an underutilization of market mechanisms. Goal support is skewed toward elite and campus football (73.5% of instruments), whereas grassroots football and the football industry each receive only 9.4%, and football culture a mere 3.4%, resulting in weak grassroots outreach and cultural development measures. Actor coordination is limited: government undertakes 52.8% of the response tasks, social organizations 37.7%, and enterprises only 9.4%, hindering the formation of a “government–social–enterprise” collaborative governance model. Based on these insights, we propose three optimizations: (1) expand the provision of demand-type instruments by strengthening fiscal incentives, government procurement, and service outsourcing to integrate administrative resources with market mechanisms; (2) coordinate the five goal dimensions by balancing resource allocation, increasing support for grassroots football, industry development, and football culture, and establishing robust goal-evaluation and feedback mechanisms; and (3) build a collaborative governance model among government, social organizations, and enterprises by repositioning the government as a “coordinator,” leveraging the expertise of social organizations, and incentivizing enterprise investment in event operations and industry chain development. This study not only uncovers structural issues in the Plan’s design but also offers systematic theoretical and practical pathways to enhance policy implementation effectiveness and promote the sustainable development of women’s football.