On Oct. 9, 2026, the Chinese Football Professional Leagues officially launched their annual “Civilization Action Month,” centering the nationwide campaign on the theme of “respect” under the unified slogan “Step Out Together, Share Mutual Respect.” The initiative covers all personnel working across the league structure alongside the wider fan base, targeting a deepening of professional conduct and industry rectification during a crucial tightening period for the sport, sports.tom.com reported.
Unifying Six Professional Tiers Around Five Core Principles
Organized by the Chinese Professional Football Leagues (CPFL) with backing from Bank of China Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd., the campaign spans the top-tier Chinese Super League down through six levels of professional competition as the season enters its closing weeks. The organizing body established three primary operational pillars: sparking civil pitch concepts, executing civil pitch actions, and telling civil pitch stories. To ground these ideals in daily competition, the initiative breaks down the overarching theme of respect into five distinct behavioral standards: respecting rules, respecting opponents, respecting referees, respecting fans, and respecting oneself.
Implementing Stadium Ceremonies and Captain Initiatives
Matchdays throughout the action month feature synchronized stadium rituals designed to reinforce sportsmanship from the opening whistle. Fixtures incorporate pre-match chorus renditions of the national anthem involving players, substitutes, coaching staff, ball kids, and spectators to foster a heightened sense of national pride and matchday responsibility. Concurrently, a captain-led advocacy program utilizes team captains to anchor behavioral standards on the pitch, translating mutual respect into concrete game actions. Official respect-themed video packages are broadcasting across stadium screens and digital channels, while organizers continue an expanded version of the previous year’s “Ten-Hundred-Thousand” model by recognizing prominent fan supporter groups, collecting short video entries, and honoring thousands of stadium guides.
Alongside on-field protocols, the campaign implements an “away-match hospitality” initiative encouraging constructive interaction between home and visiting supporters. Host divisions, member clubs, and fan associations are collecting positive matchday stories from traveling supporters to cultivate friendlier cross-town and inter-provincial dynamics. The CPFL stated that the multi-layered coordination among clubs, local match zones, and the public aims to transform high-level behavioral guidance into routine habits for players, officials, and spectators alike.
