Xu Bin’s Overseas Move Side Effect: Evergrande Football School Boosts Its Brand

Reporter Wang Wei reports On January 30, Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers confirmed Xu Bin’s transfer, instantly igniting media and fan excitement. In the just-finished U23 Asian Cup, Xu Bin, often serving as captain, stood out for his remarkable play in the defensive midfield role. After aiding his team to a second-place finish, he promptly began his overseas career, making him unquestionably the most promising individual among these U23 players.

At the same time, another aspect of Xu Bin’s identity has sparked public interest — he is a product of the Evergrande Football School and the first adult male national team player since the school’s establishment. Now, as he “once again” embarks on an overseas journey and truly becomes an expatriate player, he is undoubtedly enhancing the reputation of his “alma mater.”

In the behind-the-scenes footage released by Wolves on the day of Xu Bin’s signing, during fitness testing, Xu Bin’s use of Spanish led a staff member to ask, “Why do you speak Spanish?” Xu Bin replied, “Because I spent a year in Madrid.” The time Xu Bin mentioned in Madrid was back in 2018 when, during his time at Evergrande Football School, he was sent to the Madrid branch for advanced training, which also provided him the opportunity to systematically learn Spanish. For Xu Bin, the experience of training at both Evergrande Football School and its Spanish branch is unforgettable. He joined the school with no football background and became one of the outstanding players produced by Evergrande’s youth training system.

“Before going to Evergrande Football School, I didn’t know how to play football. I’m from Yiyang, Hunan, and my parents run a business in Kunming. In early 2014, while attending primary school in Kunming, my school had a football team, and I signed up because I thought playing football was fun. Later, when the team went to Luzhi for a match, Evergrande Football School noticed me. During summer vacation, my parents and I visited the school to check it out,” Xu Bin shared during an exclusive interview last year. He admitted, “It was only after joining the school that I started professional training,” which ultimately led him “onto the path of becoming a professional player.”

Xu Bin still deeply appreciates his alma mater’s nurturing: “The football school is where our dreams began. It provided us with an excellent environment, including sending us to Spain for training, and also offered a great platform from youth teams to the professional level.” Upon hearing about Xu Bin’s signing with Wolves, Evergrande Football School, which trained him, posted: “Wishing Xu Bin all the best on his football journey. Fly towards a higher stage with your dreams!”

According to Evergrande Football School, in over fourteen years of operation, a total of 1,050 players have been selected for various national teams. In the past two years alone, more than one hundred graduates have played in the Chinese Super League, China League One, and China League Two, contributing to the development of over ten thousand young football talents in China’s youth training system.

Notably, the first national team player produced by Evergrande Football School was actually Zhang Linyan, a female footballer who also had experience playing overseas in the UK. In 2013, at just 12 years old, Zhang represented China’s U14 women’s national team, marking the beginning of Evergrande’s pipeline for national-level talents — and by 2025, the school had seen 210 players selected for national teams within a single year.

Last season, 144 players trained by the school competed in domestic professional leagues, including 16 in the Super League, 49 in League One, and 79 in League Two. At the recent U23 Asian Cup, besides defensive midfield core Xu Bin, the U23 national team’s rotational key player and then only overseas player Wang Bohao, as well as reserve goalkeeper Huo Shenping from Zhejiang team, were all products of Evergrande Football School.

Other players familiar to fans include Liao Jintao, Wu Shaocong, Aifieldin, Wang Shilong, Liu Langzhou, You Wenjie, Zhang Yujie, Zhang Zhixiong, Bai Yutao, Ling Jie, Chen Guokang, Hou Yu, Yang Hao, Wang Shijie, Tan Kaiyuan, Palmanjiang, Buniyamin, Zhang Hongfu, Liu Jiale, Ailinizar, Wang Gengrui, Qin Ziniu, Jiang Cheng’en, Ailika Mu, Ke Bowen, and many more.

In addition to the increasing number of players entering national teams and professional leagues, Evergrande Football School has also achieved great success in youth competitions in recent years. In fact, aside from the many players it has supplied to Guangzhou team, the school attracted wide attention in September 2023 when the Chinese team coached by Evergrande’s coaching staff, composed mainly of Evergrande and Luneng players, won the East Asian Football Federation U15 Men’s Championship undefeated with 5 wins and 1 draw.

According to data provided by Evergrande Football School, its teams have won a total of 184 championships in high-level domestic and international football tournaments. In November 2024, the school’s U15 team won the 2024 Chinese Football Association Youth Football Championship (Professional Club U15 group) title.

The year 2025 was especially fruitful for Evergrande Football School: In March, Xu Bin was selected for the national men’s football training squad, becoming the school’s first adult male national team player; in September, the U13 team won the 2025 4th China Youth Football League National Championship in the U13 boys category; in November, the U15 team claimed the 2025 Chinese Youth Football Elite League (U15 group) national championship; and in December, the U17 team secured the 2025 Chinese Youth Football Elite League (U17 group) national championship.

On January 19, 2026, during the final day of the “462 Cup” first China-Korea Youth Football Challenge held in Dingnan, Jiangxi, Evergrande Football School defeated Yongin FC 3-0, overturning Incheon United from Korea by 2 points to claim the championship. Chinese football youth training has repeatedly witnessed Evergrande Football School’s talent development capabilities. Because of this, even after Guangzhou team withdrew from professional football in early 2025, the Chinese Football Association still specially invited Evergrande Football School to participate in professional club competitions.

With more national team players emerging and more youth training championships being won, Evergrande Football School, as a “positive legacy” of the era of big-money football, has undeniably become an influential force in Chinese football youth development.

Although losing its professional team has deprived Evergrande Football School of a crucial outlet for its football talents, the school has been actively seeking new breakthroughs. The 19th Guangdong-Macau Cup football tournament starting on February 7 features a Guangdong representative team formed mainly by players from Evergrande Football School’s 2008 cohort, with Liu Zhiyu as team leader and Yang Changpeng as head coach. This team recently won the 2025 Chinese Youth Football Elite League (U17 group) national championship. With deeper cooperation between Evergrande Football School and Guangdong provincial sports authorities, future collaborations may further promote high-quality youth football development in Guangdong, nurturing more outstanding young football talents based at Evergrande Football School.