Guangdong Changlong Supports the Kickoff of Football in Meizhou

Reported by Wang Wei and intern Li Xin On the evening of November 9, the much-awaited 15th National Games will commence at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center. The day before, in the morning, the 26th Guangdong International Sporting Goods Expo and the 22nd Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao International Sporting Goods Expo, organized by the Guangdong Provincial Sports Bureau, the Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government, and the Sports Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, opened at the Canton Fair Complex. Meizhou, known as the "Hometown of Football," participated with a football-themed exhibition in Hall 16.2, Zone C of the Canton Fair Complex. It showcased the outstanding achievements of the Meizhou football youth training “Double Youth” project, while the Meizhou Changlong Football Charity Project also attracted significant attention.

On October 13 this year, the Changlong Football Field at Zhongxing School in Zhoujiang Town, Wuhua County, Meizhou, was officially opened. This football field, funded and built by Guangdong Changlong Group Co., Ltd., is a high-quality facility donated by Changlong Group in Meizhou and represents the group's long-term commitment to supporting Meizhou's football development. In recent years, from responding to national strategic top-level designs, to donating professional fields across villages and towns, and revitalizing red culture, Changlong Group has injected powerful momentum into Meizhou football’s growth, helping football take off in Meizhou.

As the birthplace of modern football in mainland China, Meizhou boasts a rich football heritage and has nurtured many outstanding football talents. Modern football was introduced to Yuankeng Village, Wuhua County, Meizhou in 1873. Over a century, legends like Li Huitang emerged here, with more than 300 excellent players such as Zeng Xuelin and Cai Jinbiao representing the national team, earning Meizhou the reputation as the “Hometown of Football.” However, with time, issues like a shortage of playing fields and outdated facilities have increasingly hindered the development and popularization of football in Meizhou.

In 2022, Meizhou was designated as a key city for national football development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. At this time, the “Hundreds, Thousands, and Tens of Thousands Project” was being fully promoted across southern Guangdong. Changlong Group keenly recognized the alignment between national strategy and local needs and pledged 50 million yuan to the Meizhou Football Development Foundation in 2023 to launch a special football revitalization plan. As Liu Haoyu, Party Secretary of Changlong Group, stated at the unveiling ceremony of the “Meizhou Football Declaration” during the 150th Anniversary of Modern Football in Mainland China and Meizhou Football Theme Day, this move is not just a financial donation but a natural choice for the company to align its social responsibility with national strategy.

Changlong Group’s strategic commitment is deeply rooted. Since 2014, the group has donated 10 million yuan to support the renovation and upgrade of the Ye Jianying Memorial Park in Huxing Village, Yanyang Town, Meizhou. By improving the park’s hardware and software services, visitors can gain a fuller understanding of Marshal Ye Jianying’s steadfast party spirit and great revolutionary achievements, thus passing on red heritage. Over the years, Changlong Group has continuously carried out charitable donations exceeding 810 million yuan across Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Tibet, and other regions, focusing on industrial support, elderly care, education assistance, and ecological protection.

Changlong has always led with Party building, integrating corporate development with national priorities. In supporting Meizhou football, Changlong precisely aligned with the development path of “government guidance, social support, and public participation,” funding both infrastructure and events, creating a three-dimensional support system of “venues + activities + culture.” By the end of 2023, the Changlong-sponsored 150th Anniversary of Modern Football in Mainland China Meizhou Football Theme Day attracted football fans nationwide. The four interactive booths at the Changlong-Meizhou Grassroots Football Carnival were bustling with crowds, embodying the spirit of “people’s football and grassroots interaction.” The Meizhou municipal government awarded Changlong the “Special Sponsor” plaque, recognizing its positive contributions to Meizhou’s football development.

In July 2025, teachers and students at Dadou Middle School in Anliu Town, Wuhua County, Meizhou, finally bid farewell to the old field where they would get covered in dust on sunny days and mud on rainy days. It was replaced by the Dadou Changlong Football Field, a professional pitch with FIFA-certified artificial turf. This is the fourth high-quality football field built in Meizhou by Changlong Group in cooperation with the Guangdong Changlong Charity Foundation and Guangdong Rural Revitalization Foundation. This single project benefits over 30,000 residents across 12 surrounding administrative villages.

Every piece of support Changlong has provided to Meizhou football carries the mark of precise assistance.

Completed in January 2025, the Songyuan Changlong Football Field in Meixian District is a model of post-disaster reconstruction. Due to the devastating “6.16” heavy rain disaster, the sports field at Songyuan Middle School was severely flooded, damaging the facilities and making the field unusable. The Guangdong Changlong Charity Fund generously donated 1.5 million yuan to fully upgrade the field. The renovation included relaying artificial turf meeting FIFA certification standards and installing internationally renowned Musco lighting systems suitable for amateur-level competitions. After a match, Li Peng, a player of the Songyuan Football Association team, praised the new field: “The old field was full of potholes after rain, making it easy to get injured. The renovated field has very smooth and elastic turf, offering excellent foot feel and playing experience.”

The most touching transformation is at the Second Primary School in Zhoujiang Town, Wuhua County. Previously serving over 10 surrounding villages and communities, the school had only a rudimentary cement basketball court and a dusty dirt football field. In October 2025, thanks to Changlong Group’s generous donation, the school built a 2,000-square-meter professional sports ground, including a FIFA-certified five-a-side football field, accompanying basketball courts, professional lighting, and landscaping. Surrounding roads and supporting facilities were upgraded simultaneously. The Zhongxing Changlong Football Field project effectively filled the gap in local professional sports facilities, improved school conditions, and strongly promoted students’ all-round development. At the opening ceremony, the student representatives’ innocent words expressed their excitement for the green field and gratitude for social kindness.

By November 2025, with strong support from the Guangdong Changlong Charity Foundation and Guangdong Rural Revitalization Foundation, several Meizhou Changlong football charity projects have been completed, including Changlong Football Park in Bingcun, Meixian District; Huangpi Changlong Football Field in Xingning City; Dadou Changlong Football Field; Songyuan Changlong Football Field; Yuxin Changlong Football Field in Xingning City; Jiangnan Yucai Primary School Changlong Sports Ground in Meijiang District; and Zhongxing School Changlong Football Field in Wuhua County. The transformation from “dirt fields” to “dream factories” highlights Changlong Group’s powerful support for Meizhou football development.

In Huxing Village, Yanyang Town, Meizhou, the Ye Jianying Memorial Park’s VR panoramic tour system attracts a steady stream of visitors. Through their phone screens, tourists can “walk” through the renovated former residence courtyard and listen to a robot guide narrate the Marshal’s revolutionary stories.

This red landmark, which receives 1.3 million visitors annually, is the result of Changlong Group’s 10 million yuan donation for upgrades in 2014. “It was precisely Changlong Group’s donation that resolved the urgent needs of Ye Jianying Memorial Park and revitalized the site!” said Chen Guojun, Deputy Director of the Memorial Park Management Bureau.

By enhancing hardware facilities and improving software services, visitors can more comprehensively understand Marshal Ye Jianying’s unwavering party loyalty and remarkable revolutionary achievements, better inheriting red heritage. Changlong’s assistance has transcended material support, achieving a harmonious resonance between red culture inheritance and sports development.

As early as 2015, riding the wave of Chinese football reform, the Meizhou Municipal Party Committee, government, and sports bureau jointly advocated and established the “Meizhou Football Development Foundation.” The foundation’s mission is to promote Meizhou’s fine football traditions and talent advantages, unite the football community and all those concerned with Meizhou football’s progress, actively carry out football charity activities, support youth football talent cultivation, promote football popularization, vigorously advance football public facilities construction, and foster healthy development of Meizhou football.

In the deep implementation of the “High-Quality Development Project for Hundreds of Counties, Thousands of Towns, and Tens of Thousands of Villages” and the push to build Meizhou as a national key city for football development, Guangdong Changlong Group Co., Ltd., through the Guangdong Rural Revitalization Foundation and Meizhou Football Development Foundation, donates 10 million yuan annually from 2023 to 2027 to support Meizhou Changlong Public Welfare Football Projects. Nearly 20 million yuan has been invested so far, building 14 Changlong football fields in football infrastructure-deficient towns across five counties and districts including Meixian. These public football facilities, free of charge, provide a solid foundation for the popularization of campus football, youth training, and grassroots football in Meizhou, receiving unanimous praise from local football enthusiasts and residents. In a survey conducted by the Shanghai Oriental Sports Evaluation Consulting Center during their Meizhou research, satisfaction with Meizhou Changlong’s public football facilities was the highest. Additionally, the Guangdong Changlong-sponsored 2025 Meizhou Li Huitang Cup Five-a-Side Football Championship was recognized as a typical case of sports consumption scenes in Guangdong Province in 2025.

This Guangdong Sports Expo showcased the excellent image of Meizhou, the “Hometown of Football.” Li Xinhai, Deputy Director of Meizhou Sports Bureau, said at the Meizhou exhibition area: “Meizhou’s participation highlights its cultural heritage, emphasizing its identity as the ‘Hometown of Football.’ It also demonstrates the achievements in youth training and talent development, helping attendees and the wider audience understand Meizhou and its football. Meizhou’s football work has received strong support from the government and society, especially the Changlong Charity Foundation, which annually provides substantial support for renovating and expanding related facilities, allowing more people to enjoy better venues. We are very grateful for support from all sectors, particularly Changlong Group’s long-term backing of Meizhou football. We hope Meizhou football will continue to strengthen its foundation and thrive. Going forward, according to Meizhou’s ten-year football revitalization plan, we will focus intensively on professional, social, and youth football, continuing efforts to engage more citizens and enable everyone to benefit from football.”