Centenary School Cup | Qidong, Jiangsu: A Decade of "County Football" in a "Top 100 County"

Reporter Chen Yong reports As a top-ranking county with a GDP exceeding 150 billion in 2024 and known as a "hometown of education," Qidong, Jiangsu, lacks typicality at the county level. However, in the context of China's more economically developed areas, the development of football in Qidong holds significant meaning.

Before 2015, Wang Haijian, who enjoyed playing football, could only play casually with friends. He started playing football at the age of 14 while attending Changjiang Middle School and has been inseparable from the sport ever since, playing casually until he turned 40. In 2015, in response to national policies promoting football development, Wang and a group of like-minded friends established the Qidong Football Association according to the regulations of the Football Association, with Wang serving as the president. From then on, the development of football in Qidong began to take shape with organization and planning.

Over the course of 10 years, the number of registered players in the Qidong Football Association has grown from around 200 to approximately 1,000, and the number of clubs participating in amateur leagues has expanded from 8 to 24.

In terms of the event system, the Qidong Football League runs from March to June, divided into Group A and Group B for promotion and relegation matches, with 22 teams participating in 2025; the FA Cup takes place from September to December; and the "Peach and Plum Cup" football invitation tournament occurs during the summer, now in its sixth edition, aimed at teachers and later including college students returning home for the summer. Additionally, Qidong and Haimen District co-host the "Qihai Cup" friendly football match, featuring 8 teams from the top four amateur league teams in Qidong and Haimen District, which has been held for 11 consecutive years. "Throughout the year, our Qidong Football Association organizes over 200 matches. In terms of amateur football development, we are leading the way," Wang Haijian told reporters.

The Qidong Football Association insists on engaging in party building, supporting the military, and public welfare activities. In terms of public welfare, the association established a volunteer alliance in its second year and subsequently formed a coaching team that enters schools every Thursday to assist in the development of school football. Yesterday (the 27th), during the finals of the Centenary School Football Elite Exchange Competition (hereinafter referred to as the "Centenary School Cup") for elementary schools, the Qidong Football Association held a "Joy Together in Dongjiang" military support event at Diehu Park.

"One of our members told me that after a week of work, just thinking about a football match on the weekend makes him very happy. His words resonated with me and gave us a heavy sense of responsibility. The development of Qidong Football Association to this point has been shaped by everyone's love and expectations. For this passion and belief, we will definitely continue to persevere and strive," said Wang Haijian (the person in black in the photo below).

Chen Zhihui, the principal of Qidong No. 1 Middle School, is also a football enthusiast who enjoys football in his spare time and is quite skilled. The "Centenary School Cup" is hosted by Qidong No. 1 Middle School, for which Principal Chen, along with Vice Principals Mao Honggang and Chen Xinjian, has devoted considerable effort to organization and support.

Every day during the matches, Chen Zhihui comes to the stadium, "partly to check the support situation, but more importantly, I enjoy watching the kids play football, seeing them run and be full of energy. It feels very fulfilling. Many kids play really well, which I find very enjoyable. It is an honor for us that these kids can play football at our school," said Chen Zhihui.

Hehe Primary School in Qidong is one of the strong teams in the elementary school group. In this "Centenary School Cup," the host team and strong contenders Zhengshanglu Primary School and Zhongguancun No. 1 Primary School were placed in the same group, missing out on the top eight. However, in the ranking matches for 9th to 16th place, Hehe Primary School achieved three consecutive victories.

Campus football at Hehe Primary School began in 2015, with head coach Sheng Jinhao, who is not a former player or athlete but has a great passion for football. He obtained an AFC C-level coaching certificate and a Chinese Football Association D-level goalkeeper coaching certificate. In 2016, the girls' football team from Hehe Primary School won the Qidong City Championship, and Ye Zihan, a student from Hehe Primary School, was selected for the national women's football training team for the 2011 age group.

Sheng Jinhao did not initially work at Hehe Primary School; he previously worked at Donghai Junior High School, which is also a strong team in Qidong's campus football, boasting a comprehensive campus football system, including class leagues.

Qidong Experimental Primary School has a long history of campus football development: as early as 1980, it was one of the participating teams in the national grassroots representative team football competition for primary schools, organized by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, the Ministry of Education, and the National Sports Commission.

In recent years, under the leadership of Chen Jinfeng, the party secretary of the school's party committee, Qidong Experimental Primary School has set the goal of "accelerating the development of campus football and nurturing young football talents," steadily advancing football culture construction. The school has established a scientific and advanced youth football training mechanism and has created an efficient system for campus football teaching, training, and competition. In 2020, Qidong Experimental Primary School was recognized as a national characteristic school for youth campus football. "Football is the school's distinctive brand. Its value goes beyond enhancing physical fitness; it also conveys a positive and confident sports spirit," said Chen Jinfeng.

In the inaugural "Centenary School Cup" event in 2024, Qidong Experimental Primary School participated as the representative team of Qidong City. Vice Principal Fan Changchun accompanied the team and participated in the "Principal Forum." The head coach of Qidong Experimental Primary School is Sheng Xuanhao, who focuses on exploring scientific training methods, emphasizing that campus football training should consider the characteristics of children at different ages, enhancing training in coordination, flexibility, and agility, while also strengthening players' one-on-one skills, leading to comprehensive development in campus football at Qidong Experimental Primary School.

Lu Qinghua, a member of the Party Leadership Group and director of the Education Service Center of Qidong City Education and Sports Bureau, stated that the current core project for youth football development in Qidong is the "Football into Campus" initiative for 2024, personally overseen by the Qidong Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government. The plan is to achieve full coverage of campus football in Qidong's basic education over three years, starting with 26 schools, including 15 primary schools, 7 junior high schools, and 4 high schools.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, coinciding with the "Centenary School Cup," the Qidong City Education and Sports Bureau invited Li Zhangzhu and relevant experts for a special seminar—the Qidong City Football Development Planning Symposium. Director Lu Haifeng presided over the meeting, which included representatives from the Qidong Football Association, school principals, and coaches.

Li Zhangzhu noted that Qidong is a hometown of education, and education and football are inseparable. "For our youth, education is very important, including interactions and communication with classmates, as well as character development and team formation. Sports develop healthily within education, and education is enhanced through the power of sports." He also stated, "Currently, Chinese parents want too much and provide excessive protection for their children, when in fact they should give them more opportunities for growth. Many things that parents themselves cannot achieve, they expect their children to do, which places too much pressure on the kids."

In a subsequent interview, when discussing the significant gap between Chinese and Korean players, who are similar around the age of 15 but differ greatly as adults, he remarked, "The issue is not merely the transition from youth training to professional levels; the problem starts much earlier. As they grow older, the differences gradually become evident. The key to solving this problem lies in foundational training, education, and the development and enhancement of grassroots coaches and the overall system."

During this meeting, participants also discussed the development model of Qidong City's campus football league and the training of grassroots coaches. It is clear that Qidong City is highly attentive to the development of social football and campus football, establishing clear development goals.

During the elementary school group matches of the "Centenary School Cup," the 2025 "Village Super" national competition has already started, divided into two levels of selection and a national final in three phases, with the final scheduled for early August in Rongjiang. The "Village Super" is an innovative event combining county-level (Rongjiang County) features with rural elements and is currently one of the most popular grassroots events.

At the same time, the China Football Development Foundation released a notice on the 18th regarding the list of county-level grassroots competitions and provincial finals for the fifth "National Fitness, Healthy China" event in 2025, confirming 30 provincial football associations and 5 municipal football associations in Gansu Province to host county-level grassroots competitions, with 22 provincial football associations hosting provincial finals. Online registration began on the 23rd.

In 2024, the fourth "National Fitness, Healthy China" county football tournament will take place in 870 county-level areas across 28 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, with 10,086 participating teams. The number of participants has risen from 89,000 in 2021 to 183,014, with 37,050 matches held. The new round of events in 2025 is expected to cover over 900 county-level administrative regions. Additionally, the China Football Development Foundation has youth football projects in counties.

If we break down grassroots football in China, the Youth Football Foundation's county football primarily targets the western regions and revolutionary old areas; Qidong represents the path of football development in economically developed counties and cities; events like "Village Super" showcase distinctive competitions. Collaborative efforts are constructing a stable foundation for social and youth football in China's county-level football system.