The World Football Museum has been officially opened in Linzi, a district of Zibo city in Shandong province, China, where FIFA reportedly recognises the game of football originated 2,500 years ago during the Qi Dynasty. The Asian Football Confederation was represented at the opening ceremony by its Director for National Associations and Clubs, Brendan Menton.The museum's models, artifacts, documents and photograohs cover the history of football in ancient China (known as Cu Jufrom the Chinese Cu meaning kick and Ju meaning ball) and the devlopment of modern soccer over 2,500 years.
As part of the opening ceremony, young footballers from Linzi demonstrated the skill and techniques of two versions of Cu Ju. One was very similar to modern football and was particularly popular with soldiers for training. The second, indirect Cu Ju, requires each team to keep the ball off the ground and attempt to score goals by guiding the ball through a circular gap in a net well above head height. If the ball touched the ground, possession was lost.