China Unveils 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Leading Sports Nation: Cracking Down on Toxic Fan Culture, Ending the 'Influencer-ization' of Athletes

Recently, with the approval of the State Council, the General Administration of Sport of China officially released the Plan for Building a Leading Sports Nation during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period.

The plan makes clear that the conduct and work style of the sports industry must be firmly addressed. It calls for improving the integrity system in sports and rigorously rectifying industry malpractices such as fraud, match-fixing, and violence at sporting venues. Supervision and management of athletes' technical grading will be strengthened, along with greater information disclosure and oversight of competitions that confer titles and rankings. The plan clarifies the responsibilities of sports teams at all levels for education, management, and supervision, and mandates strict investigation of identity fraud and age falsification in youth competitions. Professional ethics education for sports practitioners will be enhanced, and internal governance of sports associations will be strengthened. The plan also targets key areas and critical links — including training for major competitions, the "three big ball sports" (football, basketball, and volleyball), commercial development, and event hosting — to deepen the systematic rectification of misconduct and corruption in the sports sector.

The plan further calls for cultivating civility at sporting venues. Publicity and education on stadium etiquette will be stepped up, a code of conduct for civilized behavior at sports venues will be formulated and issued, and a healthy, positive fan culture and event culture will be fostered. Governance of behavior at venues will be reinforced, with responsibilities assigned to all parties and uncivilized conduct handled in accordance with the law. Notably, the plan demands intensified rectification of toxic "fan circle" (fanquan) culture in sports, resolutely preventing competitive sports from being consumed by fan-circle dynamics and stopping athletes from being turned into internet celebrities. Management of fan support and ranking-boosting activities targeting athletes will be tightened, and the cross-departmental coordination mechanism for fan-circle governance will be optimized. Mechanisms for guiding public opinion on sports and responding to public sentiment will also be improved.