Adopted at the 15th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress on August 29, 1995
Amended in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Physical Culture and Sports Law of the PRC adopted at the 12th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress on August 27, 2009
Amended in accordance with the Decision on Amending Four Laws including the Physical Culture and Sports Law of the PRC adopted at the 10th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People’s Congress on August 31, 2016
Revised at the 35th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress on June 24, 2022
Effective: January 1, 2023
Table of Contents
Chapter I — General Provisions
Article 1 — This Law is enacted for the purposes of promoting the development of sports undertakings, strengthening the physical fitness of the people, improving the level of competitive sports, promoting the construction of a healthy China, and building a leading sporting nation.
Article 2 — The State shall implement the strategy of national fitness, promote the integration of sports for all and national health, establish a sports work mechanism with government leadership, multi-party participation, social co-construction, and shared benefits, and promote the development of sports undertakings in a coordinated manner.
Article 3 — The development of sports undertakings shall adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, follow the people-centered development concept, and be guided by the national fitness strategy with an emphasis on youth sports development.
Article 4 — The State shall encourage citizens to participate in sports activities and promote the development of various types of sports activities such as mass sports and competitive sports.
Sports activities shall comply with laws and regulations, respect social morality, be conducive to physical and mental health, and safeguard the lawful rights and interests of citizens participating in sports activities.
Article 5 — The administrative department of sports under the State Council shall be in charge of the work relating to sports throughout the country. Other relevant departments of the State Council shall, within the scope of their respective functions, be responsible for the work relating to sports.
The administrative departments of sports of the local people’s governments at or above the county level or the departments authorized by the people’s governments at the corresponding level shall be in charge of the work relating to sports within their respective administrative areas.
Article 6 — The State shall expand the supply of public sports services, promote the equalization and universal benefit of basic public sports services, and gradually improve the standards of public sports services for all citizens.
Article 7 — The State shall adopt financial, taxation, land supply, and other policy measures to encourage and support the participation of social forces in the development of sports undertakings.
Article 8 — The State shall encourage and support the development of sports scientific research and the application of advanced scientific and technological achievements in sports, so as to enhance the scientific and technological content of sports development.
Article 9 — The State shall carry out international sports exchanges and cooperation, participate in international sports affairs, and safeguard national interests, dignity, and honor.
Article 10 — Entities and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the work relating to sports shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with the relevant State provisions.
Chapter II — Mass Sports
Article 11 — The State shall implement the National Fitness Program, formulate and implement national fitness implementation plans, promote the construction of a public sports service system, and encourage citizens to participate in fitness activities.
Article 12 — People’s governments at all levels shall create conditions for citizens to participate in mass sports activities, support mass sports activities, and shall not occupy or damage public sports facilities.
Article 13 — State organs, enterprises, public institutions, and other organizations shall carry out various forms of sports activities; enterprises and public institutions shall organize their employees to carry out work-break exercises and various forms of fitness activities.
Article 14 — Trade unions, communist youth leagues, women’s federations, disabled persons’ federations, and other people’s organizations shall organize their members and the social groups they serve to carry out sports activities.
Article 15 — Residents’ committees, villagers’ committees, and other grassroots self-governing organizations shall, in light of their own characteristics, organize and guide residents and villagers to carry out sports activities.
Article 16 — The State shall implement the Standards for Physical Exercise of the Whole People and carry out monitoring of the physical fitness of citizens.
Article 17 — The State shall attach importance to and support the development of youth sports, requiring schools to include physical education and sports in the educational teaching plan, guarantee the time for physical education and sports, and organize various forms of extracurricular sports activities.
Article 18 — Schools shall ensure that students participate in at least one hour of physical exercise each day during their time at school. The State shall include physical education subjects in the scope of junior high school and high school academic proficiency examinations.
Article 19 — The administrative departments of education and the administrative departments of sports shall promote sports activities among young people and students, and cultivate their sports hobbies and exercise habits. Schools shall organize sports activities such as sports games.
Article 20 — The State shall establish a national student physical health standard and promote the improvement of students’ physical health levels.
Chapter III — Competitive Sports
Article 21 — The State shall promote the reform and development of competitive sports, encourage athletes to improve their competitive sports level, and strive for honors in sports competitions at home and abroad.
Article 22 — The State shall standardize and promote the professional and market-oriented development of competitive sports, and establish a sound management system for professional sports.
Article 23 — The State shall encourage and support the training of reserve talents for competitive sports. The administrative department of sports under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the administrative department of education under the State Council and other relevant departments, formulate plans for the development of youth sports talents.
Article 24 — Athletes shall be selected and registered in accordance with the principles of openness, fairness, and merit-based selection. No organization or individual may illegally obstruct the selection and registration of athletes.
Article 25 — The State shall protect the lawful rights and interests of athletes. Athletes shall carry forward the spirit of sportsmanship and abide by the rules of competition and professional ethics.
Article 26 — The State shall encourage fairness and justice in competitive sports and prohibit the use of doping in sports. No organization or individual may organize, coerce, deceive, or instigate athletes to use doping in sports activities.
The administrative department of sports under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the administrative departments of food and drug supervision and administration, health, and other relevant departments under the State Council, formulate and publish lists of doping substances.
Article 27 — The State shall establish a system of sports technical titles; the conditions and measures for the assessment of sports technical titles shall be separately formulated by the administrative department of sports under the State Council.
Chapter IV — Sports Industry
Article 28 — The State shall support the development of the sports industry, improve the sports industry system, regulate the order of the sports market, and encourage the expansion of sports consumption.
Article 29 — The State shall formulate a development plan for the sports industry, optimize the layout and structure of the sports industry, and promote the integrated development of the sports industry with culture, tourism, health, elderly care, and other industries.
Article 30 — The State shall encourage and support sports organizations, enterprises, and public institutions to develop and produce sports products, provide sports services, and create sports brands.
Article 31 — The State shall standardize and develop various types of professional sports events, encourage and support the holding of high-level sports events, and promote the healthy and orderly development of the sports competition performance market.
Chapter V — Sports Venues and Facilities
Article 32 — Local people’s governments at or above the county level shall include the construction of public sports venues and facilities in the national economic and social development plans and the territorial space plans at the corresponding levels, and shall arrange for the construction of public sports venues and facilities in a reasonable manner in accordance with the relevant State provisions.
Article 33 — Public sports venues and facilities shall be open to the public, and convenient conditions shall be provided for the public to carry out sports activities. No organization or individual may occupy or damage public sports facilities without authorization.
Article 34 — Public sports venues shall be open to the public free of charge or at reduced fees. Fees charged by public sports venues for paid services shall be subject to the approval of the relevant government departments.
Article 35 — Schools shall provide sports venues and facilities and physical education equipment and apparatus that meet the State standards in accordance with the provisions of the administrative department of education under the State Council.
Chapter VI — Sports Organizations
Article 36 — The State shall encourage and support the establishment and development of sports organizations, which shall carry out activities in accordance with the law. The All-China Sports Federation shall represent China in participating in the International Olympic Committee and other international sports organizations.
Article 37 — National individual sports associations shall be responsible for the popularization and improvement of the relevant sports events throughout the country, formulate corresponding technical standards and competition rules, and shall participate in the corresponding international individual sports organizations and carry out international exchanges and cooperation in accordance with the law.
Article 38 — Sports organizations shall operate in accordance with the law and regulations, establish and improve their internal governance structures, and ensure openness and transparency in their operation.
Chapter VII — Sports Arbitration
Article 39 — The State shall establish a sports arbitration system to resolve sports disputes in a timely and fair manner and to protect the lawful rights and interests of the parties concerned.
The State Council shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Law, establish a sports arbitration commission, formulate arbitration rules for sports disputes, and determine the scope of acceptance of sports arbitration cases.
Article 40 — The parties to the following sports disputes may apply for sports arbitration:
(1) Disputes over the cancellation of qualification for competitions, cancellation of competition results, suspension of competitions, and other penalties imposed on athletes, coaches, or referees by sports organizations or event organizers;
(2) Disputes over the registration and transfer of athletes; and
(3) Other sports disputes that shall be subject to sports arbitration as provided for by laws and regulations.
Chapter VIII — Legal Liability
Article 41 — Where any organization or individual occupies or damages public sports facilities in violation of the provisions of this Law, the administrative department of sports shall order it to make corrections within a prescribed time limit and impose a fine; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
Article 42 — Where any organization or individual uses doping in sports activities, the administrative department of sports shall impose a penalty in accordance with the law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
Article 43 — Where any organization or individual manipulates sports competitions, engages in fraud, or commits other acts in violation of sports ethics and competition rules in sports activities, the administrative department of sports shall impose a penalty in accordance with the law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
Article 44 — Where any organization or individual commits any of the following acts in violation of the provisions of this Law, the public security authorities shall impose a public security administrative penalty in accordance with the law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law:
(1) Disturbing the order of large-scale sports events;
(2) Carrying dangerous articles into sports venues;
(3) Engaging in gambling activities using sports activities as a cover; or
(4) Other illegal or criminal acts.
Article 45 — Functionaries of the State who neglect their duties, abuse their powers, or engage in malpractice for personal gain in the work relating to sports shall be subject to sanctions in accordance with the law; where a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the law.
Chapter IX — Supplementary Provisions
Article 46 — The Central Military Commission shall, in accordance with this Law, formulate measures for the administration of sports of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force.
Article 47 — This Law shall come into effect on January 1, 2023.
Disclaimer: This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, only the original Chinese text shall have legal effect. Readers should consult qualified legal professionals for advice on specific matters relating to the application of Chinese law. Dan Young Business Consultancy makes no warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of this translation.
