By Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe nation’s sports officials outlined plans to build six soccer stadiums nationwide as part of efforts to establish a professional league following a visit by a delegation from Japanese club Vegalta Sendai to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. He pointed to the initial formation and management of Vegalta Sendai as a successful model for the Taiwanese soccer community to emulate. Acknowledging that launching professional soccer clubs has met with difficulty and numerous obstacles in Taiwan, Huang said he would ask the government to focus on soccer, the world’s most popular game, and enable public-sector organizations to invest or sponsor teams. Lin said the stadiums will help kick-start what he envisions as a true professional soccer league consisting of six professional clubs based in the six cities, with main sponsorship from their respective city governments and major corporations based in the regions. The group from Vegalta Sendai, who play in the top-flight J1 League, were led by former Japan international Tomoyuki Hirase as its “soccer ambassador” and club president Yoshihisa Nishikawa.

Source: Taipei Times September 14, 2017 15:56 UTC