Hailing District "County Football" Investigation: "Su Super" Three Stars Were Once Grassroots Dream Chasers

Reporter Chen Yong reports Stepping onto the land of Jiangsu, the shadow of "Su Super" is everywhere. Even in late July, during this non-competition period, merchant signs display the words "Su Super," and conversations during meals revolve around "Su Super." Nowadays, every player in Su Super can be considered a star discussed passionately by fans.

As a member of the "Su Super" Taizhou team, Peng Bo appears delicate and shy, seemingly disconnected from the image of a football player; Lu Zhangyu has a slightly plump build, creating a contrast; Lin Yifeng, who could not be seen due to training, looks like a standard professional athlete in photos. In fact, Peng Bo was once the champion of the 200m and 400m in the higher vocational group at the Jiangsu Provincial Games; Lu Zhangyu has an even bigger background, having come from the Shenhua youth training system and being teammates with Li Shenglong, he became a "king of the ball" level player in amateur competitions after retiring due to injury; Lin Yifeng is a university student from campus football, currently studying at Nanjing Normal University Taizhou College.

From left: Lu Zhangyu, Lin Yifeng, Peng Bo

They seem to have completely different life paths that eventually converge, but the convergence point is not in "Su Super," but at the Taizhou Hailing District Old Cannon Football Club, a team that once won various honors including the provincial and city championships. In 2024, they went through the Hailing District qualifiers, the Suzhong zone qualifiers, and the Jiangsu zone qualifiers in the county social football event organized by the China Football Development Foundation, ultimately winning the national championship.

“The moment we won was incredibly exciting; our love for football made our dreams come true,” Lu Zhangyu said. “What we didn’t expect was that the next year, the three of us would join the Taizhou team to compete in 'Su Super,' and even more unexpectedly, 'Su Super' turned out to be so popular and well-received; everything in these two years feels like a dream.”

They have dreams, but the seeds of those dreams need fertile soil: the county social football events organized by the China Football Development Foundation across over 800 counties provide that soil, while "Village Super," "Su Super," and "Gan Super" are also fertile grounds for dreams. For Chinese football, grassroots dreams and the development of grassroots football, combined with top-down promotion at the national level, create a powerful synergy, revealing the dawn of the revitalization of Chinese football.

Established in 2016, the Taizhou Hailing District Old Cannon Football Team has won numerous honors at the provincial and municipal levels, but for many years, their passion was known only to themselves, accompanied solely by teammates and the silent presence of football. However, in 2024, they discovered that their dreams were beckoning them.

Initiated in 2021 and organized by the China Football Development Foundation, the "National County Social Football Event for National Fitness and Healthy China" has quietly developed at the grassroots level for three years and finally decided to hold the provincial finals in 2024, with the national championship held from November 30 to December 3 at the Yunnan Haigeng Training Base.

“The national championship for county football must progress layer by layer from the grassroots level while maintaining a unified roster. Our first task is to excel in the Hailing District qualifiers, and then fully commit to the subsequent stages of the competition, moving upwards step by step,” said Gu Changzheng, chairman of the Taizhou Hailing District Football Association. Gu Changzheng is an entrepreneur whose Jiangsu Haisen Electric Technology Co., Ltd. is a global supplier for LG, with multiple overseas factories, achieving over 1 billion in sales in China alone in 2024. He is a passionate football enthusiast who formed a team over 20 years ago and was the first in Taizhou to introduce foreign players to an amateur team. However, due to the chaos and constant conflicts in amateur competitions back then, he gradually lost heart and didn’t play for nearly nine years.

Gu Changzheng, chairman of the Hailing District Football Association

In 2013, after Huang Guoqiang became chairman of the Hailing District Football Association, he initiated the standardization of the association. In 2018, due to restrictions from his public office, Huang Guoqiang transitioned to honorary chairman, and the rekindled passion for football led Gu Changzheng to take on the role of chairman. Over the past 11 years, the Hailing District Football Association has adhered to extremely strict standardized management, putting the development of amateur football in Hailing on the right track.

Thus, Peng Bo, Lu Zhangyu, and Lin Yifeng began their journey to championship. Peng Bo has loved football since childhood, with speed as his advantage—he was the champion in the higher vocational group for both the 200m and 400m at the Jiangsu Provincial Games in 2014. If it weren't for a severe injury at 19, 34-year-old Lu Zhangyu might still be on the professional league stage. After retiring, he worked as a chef and his weight once soared to over 200 pounds. After returning to the amateur league, he became a "king of the ball" in Taizhou. For the national county football championship, he trains children during the day and practices fitness alone at night. During the national championship in Kunming, the physical pressure from the plateau did not deter him; he gritted his teeth and fought for the championship. In comparison, 22-year-old Lin Yifeng navigates the football field with ease, as youth is an eternal truth in football.

After eliminating the team from Haimen in the Suzhong zone, they won the provincial championship at the Jiangsu finals held in Fengxian, Xuzhou. The Old Cannon team ultimately lifted the national championship trophy in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau—this is the champion that emerged from 10,086 teams in the 2024 county social football events. “At the moment our dreams came true, everyone was in tears. Persistence and passion finally paid off,” said team captain Wang Weiyu.

On December 3, 2024, they said it was a day they would never forget. Little did they know, even more miraculous opportunities awaited them in the new year...

On June 29, 2025, during the 5th round of "Su Super," Taizhou team played against Xuzhou at home. In the final moments of the match, Taizhou's number 39 player came onto the field. His slightly plump figure stood out on the pitch—he was Lu Zhangyu.

His appearance initially sparked confusion among fans, until informed media revealed his background in Shenhua’s youth training, his severe injury at 19, and his previous weight of over 200 pounds. Only then did everyone understand that this moment on the field was a continuation of his dream from over 20 years ago. In fact, for the Taizhou team, he lost another 20 pounds on top of his weight loss for the 2024 national county football championship.

After that match, Lu Zhangyu cried, alongside his old teammates Peng Bo and Lin Yifeng. Lin Yifeng is a key player for the team, having played in the second round of "Su Super," starting in 3 of the 4 matches so far. In comparison, Peng Bo has not yet had the opportunity to play, but he is still very happy: “Zhangyu is very professional, Yifeng is very young, and I, as a standard grassroots player, being selected for the Taizhou team is already a dream come true. Now I need to keep training, improve my fitness, and enhance my technical and tactical abilities, always striving to match the main players.” Peng Bo hails from Suqian, grew up in Zibo, Shandong, and eventually stayed in Taizhou due to its vibrant football atmosphere.

Wang Weihua, head of the Taizhou Phoenix City Supporters Club, witnessed the changes in Taizhou football: “We once cheered for Jiangsu team, and fought for Taizhou Yuanda, and now we are still active in the 'Su Super' arena. Everything is because football has become part of our hometown sentiment. On July 19, during the match between Taizhou and Suqian, we created a thousand-person Mosaic Tifo, marking the first time 'Su Super' showcased a thousand-person Mosaic Tifo; on August 3, we traveled to Lianyungang, and the higher authorities arranged a special train for a thousand fans, creating the first high-speed train for Taizhou fans. The Taizhou team may not yet be the top flow in 'Su Super,' but we, the Taizhou fans, are definitely among the top flows.”

"Su Super" continues, and their dreams continue, as do the dreams of more Jiangsu footballers. Nationwide, similar leagues like "Gan Super" (Jiangxi Province Urban Football Super League) and "Han Super" (Wuhan Urban Football Super League) are also thriving, and other local amateur football leagues connected to the mid-tier league are gaining more attention.

On July 28, the report on the implementation of Jiangsu Province's 2025 national economic and social development plan showed that the five monitored scenarios of "Su Super" in the first six rounds achieved service revenue (non-direct revenue from "Su Super") of nearly 38 billion yuan. Beyond the industry economy, the impact of "Su Super" on youth football is also becoming evident, as "Su Super" now has more young players, and the enthusiasm for football in various cities and counties in Jiangsu continues to rise, further promoting the comprehensive development of campus football and social football.

At the county football level, the county football events organized by the China Football Development Foundation have covered 870 counties in 2024, guiding 300 county-level administrative districts to establish football associations. In 2025, it is expected to cover over 900 counties, approaching one-third of the national county-level administrative districts.

Huang Guoqiang shared a story with reporters: “After winning the national championship for county football in Taizhou Hailing, then-deputy mayor of Taizhou and district party secretary Sun Qun held a symposium on the development of football in Hailing District, focusing on the development of Taizhou and Hailing football, which began comprehensive planning and construction. This meeting also passed a decision to open government-owned stadiums to society at low prices. This meeting marked a milestone in the development of Taizhou and Hailing football.”

While continuing to develop amateur football, the Hailing Football Association has also established a four-person coaching team to provide services for local primary and secondary schools. In terms of the association’s standardization, with the support of the local government, the currently entirely part-time Hailing Football Association will hire 1 to 2 full-time staff to continue strengthening the association's development.

The dreams of Peng Bo, Lu Zhangyu, and Lin Yifeng continue, and more "Peng Bos," "Lu Zhangyus," and "Lin Yifengs" are better pursuing their dreams in the good football atmosphere and rich football soil created by their predecessors.

On July 31, 2025, the national football work conference was held in Beijing. State Councilor Chen Yiqin spoke about the need to leverage the advantages of the new national system, adhere to the combination of an active government and an effective market, popularize and develop social football, and actively enhance the cultural literacy of social football. This national football work conference is another significant national initiative following the December 16, 2024, State Council executive meeting that researched the promotion of football revitalization and related national policy documents, aimed at unifying thoughts and comprehensively promoting the revitalization of Chinese football.

Against this backdrop, the enthusiasm for grassroots football from "Village Super," "County Football," "Su Super," and "Gan Super" precisely demonstrates the effective market's strong support for football, ultimately constructing a new pattern of dual efforts from top to bottom and bottom to top.