Girls' football team in mountainous area in China's Guangxi dream big

After dinner, 11-year-old Lyu Juan, captain of a girls' football team at a nine-year school in Hualan township of Shangsi county in Fangchenggang city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, gathered her teammates to watch the football match between Switzerland and Cameroon at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was being shown at the school’s media room.

Members of a girls' football team take part in a training session at a nine-year school in Hualan township of Shangsi county, Fangchenggang city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Yaoteng)

Li Qiang, a P.E. teacher at the school and coach of the girls' football team, said the World Cup is a chance to nurtue the girls' love for football, and they also love to watch the matches.

The school is located deep in a mountainous area. In 2015, Li established a girls' football team for the school, initially in the hope that local girls could leave the mountains and embrace the wider world through football.

But just after it was founded, the team encountered various difficulties, such as the lack of a training ground, which meant the players had to practice on a basketball court. On top of that, some players had no jerseys or football boots to wear when they trained, and some even played barefoot. Even today, the football team still trains and plays on a paved ground football pitch.

Despite these obstacles and the fact that the students have only one hour of spare time to train every day, they quickly grew into a strong football team in the locality.

Members of a girls' football team take part in a training session at a nine-year school in Hualan township of Shangsi county, Fangchenggang city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Yaoteng)

Since 2017, the team has won the girls' teams championship in the Fangchenggang city School Football League for four consecutive years. In 2020, the Fangchenggang city girls' football team, which was made up mainly of players from the nine-year school in Hualan township, came second in the Guangxi Youth Football Championship (women's division).

"All 20 members of the football team are primary school students, with the youngest being just 7 years old and the eldest 12 years old. Some of them cried when they fell during training," Li said. Despite the physical challenge of such a tough sport, the girls have never missed any training sessions.

Members of a football team from a nine-year school in Hualan township of Shangsi county in Fangchenggang city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region pose for a picture after coming in second in the Guangxi Youth Football Championship (women's division). (Xinhua/courtesy of the interviewee)

The team has now gained the attention of the outside world. According to Li, some companies have expressed willingness to sponsor them. Today, the team’s supply of balls, jerseys and boots for the football team has been effectively guaranteed, which in turn has meant they can train more effectively.

"In a few months, we’ll have a newly-built football pitch, a locker room and a facility room," said Wang Zhenbao, the school principal, adding that the school has ramped up support for the football team in recent years and plans to make football training a part of its education program.

Members of a girls' football team take part in a training session at a nine-year school in Hualan township of Shangsi county, Fangchenggang city, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Huang Yaoteng)