Devoted football fan from Guizhou put on screen during UEFA Nations League final

A little girl from a mountainous area in southwest China’s Guizhou province was put on the screen during the halftime of a final round of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Nations League held at the San Siro football stadium in Milan, Italy, on Oct. 11, honored for the continual pursuit of her dreams to play football.

With a strong passion for and persistence in playing football, the little girl named Wang Jiayue won the Gold Trophy of the Alipay Top Scorer Awards, the same as the one won by Cristiano Ronaldo at the UEFA Euro 2020, at the southwest competition zone of the 2021 campus football league under the Zhuifeng program, which was intended to help female football players in rural schools in China pursue their dreams.

Screenshot from Weibo account of Sina Sports

The news that Wang appeared on the screen at the San Siro football stadium has aroused heated discussions among netizens, who were deeply moved by her dedication to football and inspired by her hard work to achieve her dream.

Wang was originally on the football team of the Yuanbao elementary school located in her hometown in Dafang county, Bijie city of Guizhou province, which was established by Xu Zhaowei, a teacher working at the school.

(Photo provided by the interviewee)

The football team, led by Xu, has achieved much progress in their football matches and stories about the team members and Xu have been reported by several media outlets in China.

Last year, Wang and four other football players at the Yuanbao elementary school were selected by the Guangzhou Football Association to take part in more professional training courses in Guangzhou city, south China’s Guangdong province, which is an attempt by Tianhe district, Guangzhou, to provide pairing assistance for Dafang to drive its development.

“I hope that one day I can become a member of the national football team, or a football coach,” Wang said.