Head coach of Qiongzhong women’s football team thanks Messi, Iniesta for donating autographed jerseys

“Looking back now, the support and encouragement from Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta nine years ago greatly helped the girls grow, and we are still grateful to them today,” Xiao Shan, head coach of the Qiongzhong women’s football team in south China’s Hainan Province, said excitedly.

In February 2006, Xiao and his teacher Gu Zhongsheng established the Qiongzhong women’s football team with 100,000 yuan (about $14,370) in Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County, Hainan. The first members of the team were 22 girls who had never played football before from mountainous areas in Qiongzhong, which was a national-level poverty-stricken county at the time.

Members of the Qiongzhong women’s football team holding footballs and football boots, bought with money from an auction of autographed jerseys donated by Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, pose for a group photo in Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County, south China’s Hainan Province in 2013. (People’s Daily Online/courtesy of Xiao Shan)

In addition to serving as the coach of the team, Xiao also planted vegetables to supply additional food for the girls, as the team was initially underfunded.

Thanks to their consistent efforts, the team came third in the national U16 female football tournament in November 2009, the first national-level prize of its kind for Hainan.

Andres Iniesta (L) donates a jersey to the Qiongzhong women’s football team during a friendly match in 2015 in Spain. (People’s Daily Online/courtesy of Xiao Shan)

In 2010, the Qiongzhong women’s football team became the first in Hainan to participate in the national U18 football tournament.

The team began to grab headlines and even caught the attention of Messi, who was playing for a Spanish club back then.

Xiao explained that a famous sports journalist contacted him in around 2013, saying that Messi, who was touched by the stories of the Qiongzhong women’s football team, and his teammate Andres Iniesta wanted to donate an autographed jersey to the team to help the girls.

Andres Iniesta (C) donates jerseys to the Qiongzhong women’s football team during a friendly match in 2015 in Spain. (People’s Daily Online/courtesy of Xiao Shan)

“I was so surprised that those superstars paid attention to us,” said Xiao. After careful consideration, Xiao decided to auction off the two autographed jerseys to finance his team as it was still underfunded.

Xiao explained that the two autographed jerseys fetched over 30,000 yuan at auction, and he used the money to buy footballs and football boots for the girls.

Andres Iniesta (R) donates a jersey to the Qiongzhong women’s football team during a friendly match in 2015 in Spain. (People’s Daily Online/courtesy of Xiao Shan)

According to Xiao, Messi’s donation boosted the girls’ confidence, and pushed them to train even harder.

Under the sponsorship of a company, the Qiongzhong women’s football team took part in a friendly match in 2015 in Spain, where the girls met Andres Iniesta, who donated 10 autographed jerseys to the team, said Xiao.

The team won the Gothia Cup, the world’s largest youth football tournament, for three consecutive years from 2015 to 2017.

Members of the Qiongzhong women’s football team take part in a training session. (People’s Daily Online/courtesy of inerviewee)

So far, 16 members from the team have joined the China women’s national teams for different age groups.

A member of the Qiongzhong women’s football team plays a match during the Gothia Cup in 2017. (People’s Daily Online/courtesy of inerviewee)