Welcome to this elementary school football event, where you're invited to "copy homework."

Reporter Chen Yong reports. From July 21 to July 27, the second "Centenary Famous School Cup" for elementary schools was held in Qidong, with 16 school football teams from 15 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions converging in Jiangsu Qidong. This event facilitates exchange, friendship, and experience sharing. During this competition, our newspaper conducted in-depth interviews and follow-ups with the 16 participating teams, concluding that advanced ideas converged here, and the relevant models are worth emulating for the development of campus football in elementary schools nationwide.

"Weekly football classes and teams in every class" have almost become the standard for campus football. Nanning Taohuayuan Primary School, which advanced to the finals of the "Centenary Famous School Cup," has taken it a step further: in class leagues, the lineups for the first and second halves must be completely different, allowing more children to participate. Besides the professional team that won the first "Centenary Famous School Cup," there is also an ordinary team that not only acts as a reserve but also plays a crucial role in leading the development of class leagues.

In terms of football club development, Zhengzhou Zhengshang Road Primary School's football club adopts a "theory + practice" model, formulating targeted tactics before matches and conducting reviews afterward to cultivate students' strategic thinking and teamwork skills. Football clubs are also a common feature in various campus football schools.

At the integration of sports and education level, Zhengshang Road Primary School has established a diversified curriculum system that includes football skills training, tactical theory, and commentator training. Teacher Qu Qiang from Chongqing Nankai Primary School, as a member of the municipal football expert group, contributed to the writing and publication of "Chongqing Campus Football Teaching and Training Guide."

In terms of football culture, Wuhan University First Affiliated Primary School promotes football history and rules through knowledge lectures, themed class meetings, and painting competitions, creating a rich football culture atmosphere. Students deepen their understanding of football through creating football-themed hand-copied newspapers and participating in football essay competitions. Xiamen People's Primary School hosts a football carnival in conjunction with the English Festival, achieving deep integration of sports and multiple disciplines through activities like "Football Star English Introductions" and "Football-themed Mathematical Modeling." Hefei Normal University Second Affiliated Primary School builds a unique football cultural ecosystem centered on "Happy Football Turns Dreams," including rituals, gifting customized footballs to new students, and setting up "Football Growth Archives" to showcase training trajectories at graduation ceremonies.

Hangzhou Xuejun Primary School has developed an extension course titled "Football Gentlemen," aimed at enhancing players' "standard civilized etiquette, resilient willpower, and rich cultural sentiments." This course has been recognized as a "premium course" in Hangzhou and has been promoted to 15,000 teachers citywide. The "Happy Football" school-based textbook compiled by Teacher Han Qiang from Chongqing Nankai Primary School was selected as a premium course in Shapingba District.

In terms of hardware facilities, more lighting football fields are being utilized. In 2021, Hangzhou Xuejun Primary School built a professional-grade lighting system to meet night training needs. Nanning Taohuayuan Primary School also equipped its field with lights, ensuring that more children can train at different times. Additionally, many schools are striving to build football fields for children; for example, in the land-scarce Zhongguancun, Zhongguancun No. 1 Primary School constructed a beautiful 8-a-side football field. Jinan Normal University Affiliated Primary School, lacking its own field, has long rented two fields at the Workers' Cultural Palace.

It is a consensus among the teams participating in this "Centenary Famous School Cup" to provide different training contents for first and second graders, third and fourth graders, and fifth and sixth graders.

The philosophy of Taohuayuan Primary School for different age groups is as follows: the U8 age group is for beginners, focusing on play to develop interest; the U10 age group combines games and techniques, training in stopping, passing, dribbling, and positioning accuracy, as well as speed and endurance; the U12 age group emphasizes practice through competition, integrating tactical concepts into training, highlighting cooperation and teamwork awareness to enhance technical and tactical qualities.

Wuhan University First Affiliated Primary School has a systematic course design: younger students start with basic football skills such as passing and dribbling, gradually learning tactical awareness; third and fourth graders engage in simple attack and defense drills; fifth and sixth graders delve into tactics such as wing attacks and zonal defense.

Technology is also beginning to be applied in the development of campus football. Hefei Normal University Second Affiliated Primary School has introduced a sports data analysis system that monitors players' heart rates, running distances, and other metrics through wearable devices, achieving precise optimization of training plans.

The players from Xilin South Road Primary School in Hohhot participating in this competition are from the 15/16 age group, specifically students from the second and third grades last academic year, making them 2 to 4 years younger than players from other teams. During the group stage, they often faced significant defeats, but in the 13th to 16th place matches, they triumphed 4-0 against opponents who were 2 years older.

Xilin South Road Primary School has a well-established tiered team structure. The evolution of its school team has progressed from a single team to a two-tier system, and after years of exploration, it has now developed into a three-tier system. This robust team structure has allowed them to continuously win championships in Saihan District, Hohhot City, and even Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Nanning Taohuayuan Primary School, which made it to the finals, also implements a three-tier team structure, consisting of three tiers with six teams: two boys' teams and one girls' team for each age group of 12, 10, and 8 years, totaling nine school teams. Hangzhou Xuejun Primary School has established a first-grade popularization class, a second-grade C group, a third-grade tier, a fourth-grade B group, a fifth and sixth-grade A group, a girls' team, and a "Chicks Class Team," totaling ten teams. The Shaanxi Normal University Affiliated Primary School, which won the 2024 "2034" Cup, has also built a comprehensive tiered system, currently comprising over 100 members in both boys' and girls' teams, organized by grade levels into first, second, third and fourth, and fifth and sixth grades.

At the level of 12-year schooling, Hengyang Chuanshan English School has not only formed its own school team but also collaborated with youth training institutions to establish a football league team, attracting outstanding students from other primary schools to join. This league team will eventually transition to Hengyang Chuanshan English School during middle school, creating a cultivation model that balances system and continuity.

Coaches are key to enhancing the level of campus football teams. Currently, there are generally school-employed coaches, hired professional football coaches, and coaches from collaborating youth training institutions. Due to the impact of teacher staffing and hiring mechanisms, there are not many schools in the country with a complete in-house coaching system. If relying solely on their own resources, schools often can only form one team, leading to a gap in talent. As mentioned earlier, many schools have established comprehensive three-tier team structures, making collaboration with youth training institutions almost a necessity for many primary schools.

The two finalist teams, Zhengshang Road Primary School and Henan Football Club, have engaged in deep cooperation, introducing professional players to provide training guidance, thus bridging the gap between campus football and professional youth training. Taohuayuan Primary School's head coach Lin Kai also comes from a youth training institution, with as many as eight coaches from youth training institutions involved in coaching at Taohuayuan Primary School.

The head coach of Jinan Normal University Affiliated Primary School, Wang Hui, comes from the youth training institution Shengyong Football Club in Tianqiao District, Jinan. The head coach of Kunming Shulin No. 2 Primary School, Sun Yi, comes from Kunming Hengshuo Football Club and has previously coached provincial teams in Yunnan and Shanghai, as well as professional clubs like Hangzhou Greentown and Lijiang Flying Tigers. The head coach leading the team to Qidong for the competition is Hu Bin, a former student of Sun Yi who has recently graduated from university.

The head coach of Yixing Experimental Primary School, Jiang Wenfeng, comes from Yixing Zhou Tiejiu Teng Football Club. The goalkeeper trained by the school, Zhou Yucheng, has recently been selected for the U16 national youth team and participated in the "Peace Cup" international invitation tournament in Shenyang.

Particular attention should be paid to goalkeeper coaches, as this is a common shortcoming in many campus football teams. In the semifinals of the "Centenary Famous School Cup," Taohuayuan Primary School's goalkeeper Du Minkun performed exceptionally well, becoming one of the key players who determined the outcome of the match. Among the youth training institutions collaborating with Taohuayuan Primary School, there is a dedicated goalkeeper coach.

In addition to the school's own campus football development, the event system of a city is also crucial. Jinan, where Jinan Normal University Affiliated Primary School is located, serves as a model city for campus football events.

The core concept of this event is the mid-week home-and-away match system. Taking the elementary school group of the Jinan Campus Football League as an example, it is divided into a Super League and a First League, with the First League further divided into district preliminary rounds (District Mayor Cup) and city finals, effectively forming a comprehensive three-tier campus football league system.

Campus football events are scheduled for mid-week, using a home-and-away match system, allowing children to participate more. From a competitive perspective, matches with spectators provide significantly different training value compared to those without. More importantly, football matches are not limited to just football; various school clubs take turns showcasing their talents before, during, and after the matches, turning football matches into a festival for children.

This model is being promoted in various cities across the country. For instance, in Kashgar, a total of 111 schools participated in the Kashgar Super League for campus football, with 768 matches scheduled, running from April 8 this year until March 2026.

Based on the mid-week home-and-away match system for campus football, various cities conduct youth training events on weekends, which are open to teams organized by youth training institutions or schools, and currently, the national level is also promoting youth training leagues in key cities for football development.

The mid-week campus football home-and-away league and the weekend youth training leagues complement each other, truly establishing the most solid foundation for the development of youth football in China. This model is also worth learning from and promoting in all cities across the country.