Profile: Farmer dribbles through adversity to accomplish footballing dreams

Bao Zhikun, the first captain of the football team of Longnai Village, warms up on the futsal pitch in Longnai Village, Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

KUNMING, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- When asked about how he became so obsessed with football, Bao Zhikun makes no bones about admitting his desire for fame.

"As soon as you score a goal, the audience erupts in loud applause. You become a sort of celebrity. Everybody knows your name and pays attention to where you are from," he explains.

Bao, a 43-year-old farmer from Longnai Village in Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County of China's mountainous Yunnan Province, knew nothing but herding his cattle, a fate passed onto generations of the locals.

Bao Aigai (2nd R), current captain of the football team of Longnai Village, is seen in a match in Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

But a football game in his middle school opened up a whole new world for the teenager. "Everyone on the football field was simply chasing the bouncing ball, which is so much more fun than grazing animals," he recalled.

Tucked away in deep mountains, Longnai is not easily accessible and remains obscure to outsiders. Bao aspired to bring fame to his native village by representing it successfully on the football field and had practiced resolutely to hone the craft of the game.

Being from a modest financial background, Bao had to face various obstacles. He had no sneakers, so he just played barefoot. There was not a single football in the village, prompting the smart teenager to ask for pig bladders whenever a local family slaughtered pigs. "Fill it with air, and the bladder turns into a 'football' that the kids can play with all day long," Bao explained.

Members of the football teams of Longnai Village and Yonghe Village pose for a group photo after a match in Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

After he was enrolled in the local high school, the football fanatic joined the school football team and went out for football matches with his friends almost every weekend.

Zhao Aijun, the village's Party secretary, said resignedly that his own son enjoyed playing football with Bao at the time. Though parents were strongly against the sport and turned up their noses at the game as a waste of time for the students, no one could stop the little football lovers.

Despite objections from their parents, teenagers in Longnai always enjoyed playing football together on a secluded, flat strip of grass surrounded by cornfields and tea gardens.

Bao played football for a few enterprises and clubs in the county after he graduated from high school, earning nothing but a decent football jersey in exchange. Three years of experience led him to consider starting his own football team.

Bao Zhikun, the first captain of the football team of Longnai Village, warms up on the futsal pitch in Longnai Village, Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

In 2003, the first and only football team of Longnai was established and Bao was appointed as its captain while all the other members were his childhood playmates.

Due to a lack of funding, they had to do odd jobs such as laboring in a stone quarry to raise money for football competition entry fees. The team often arrived at the game venues on their tractor or simply walked there on foot. Sometimes, a bottle of drinking water was a luxury for the dogged football team.

Bao seriously injured his left leg while carrying hefty rocks in 2008, and some team members were forced to give up their dreams once they began to shoulder their own family responsibilities as adults.

The amateur football team didn't manage to rise to great fame under Bao's leadership. Finally, Bao Zhikun had to leave his beloved team, and he handed over the captaincy to Bao Aigai, who had enjoyed watching Bao Zhikun's football games as a child.

This aerial photo taken on Dec. 8, 2022 shows the futsal pitch of Longnai Village in clouds in Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County of southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

The long-awaited miracle appears to be happening now. Under the leadership of the new captain, the Longnai football team won the Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County title in 2019. Bao Zhikun was invited as their representative to the dais, where he held the championship trophy with pride and joy.

The victory also sparked confidence in Longnai. In 2020, the local government built a standard futsal pitch for the village. A growing number of locals have taken up the sport, and some have even installed outdoor lights so they can play longer after a day of farming.

"Now that our living standards have improved, we have more spare time for our hobby," said Zhao Zhiyang, a local villager.

Bao Zhikun is very optimistic to see an increasing number of children in the village taking an interest in the sport. "Who knows, a national team player may hail from our village one day," he said.