China's He Jiting (Right)/Ren Xiangyu celebrate during the men's doubles final against Thailand's Peeratchal Sukphun/Pakkapon Teeraratsakul at the Thailand Masters 2024 badminton tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, February. 4, 2024.
Several players and coaches of the Chinese national badminton team, including Wang Chang, Liang Weikeng and Chen Qiqiu, have disbanded their fan groups on China's X-like platform Sina Weibo, in a move to counter extreme fan culture.
The move, reported by China News Weekly, began on January 11 with the team's official Weibo account and key players such as Wang Chang, Liang Weikeng, He Jiting, and coaches Chen Qiqiu and Luo Yigang, taking part.
Screenshots circulated online show a message from men's doubles pair player He Jiting to his fans before disbanding the group. "Hello everyone, due to the directive to resist extreme fan culture and purify the training and competition environment, we must close all fan groups. This group will be disbanded effective immediately. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Let's meet on the court!" He wrote.
"Personally, I prefer to keep my private life undisturbed. Please respect boundaries and avoid intrusive behaviors like following or photographing athletes. Let's firmly resist extreme fan culture and stalking fans. Our focus and highlights belong on the court," he added, "I hope everyone maintains a sense of boundaries and works together towards our goals."
On Tuesday, General Administration of Sport of China on Tuesday called for prioritizing the tackling of extreme fan culture, emphasizing ideological work to safeguard sports development and uphold a healthy industry. Sports chief Gao Zhidan also stressed the importance of risk prevention in building a strong sporting powerhouse.
As early as August 2024, the administration already held a meeting to address the growing issue of extreme fan behaviors within the sports industry, emphasizing the need to prevent its distortion of the sports industry.
On December 17, 2024, several Chinese social media platforms, including Weibo, Douyin and Xiaohongshu, announced measures against accounts posting violative content related to sports fan culture. These actions include removing offending content, silencing related accounts, and other enforcement measures.
Global Times