Football changes fate of rural girls in SW China's Chongqing

A member of the girls' football team practices football at a shabby courtyard of the Sanhe Town Primary School located in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Photo courtesy of the Sanhe Town Primary School)

Football is much more than a hobby for the girls at a primary school deep in the mountains of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Over the past 12 years, more than 200 left-behind girls at the Sanhe Town Primary School in Chongqing's Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County developed their passion for football. So far, more than 80 alumnae of the school have kicked their way into elite schools in the city and 21 have been admitted to their ideal universities thanks to their football abilities.

Their life-changing journeys started in 2013 when Sun Xiaoming, who was then the principal of the school, had the idea to establish a girls' football team.

Back then, 60 percent of the school's students were left-behind children, which is the term for children who remain in their hometowns while their parents do migrant work in other parts of the country, and students in the school underperformed compared to their city peers. Facing this bleak situation, Sun thought football could be a chance for the students to receive a better education and live different lives.

In March 2013, the first girls' football team of the school was established, including 20 fourth and fifth graders, 18 of whom were left-behind children. The team trained with rubber balls instead of real footballs on the school's concrete playground due to limited conditions.

Despite their efforts and training, the team came in last place in the primary and secondary school football league games in Shizhu county in 2014, which was a bitter pill to swallow for many of the girls. Sun recalled the girls’ dejected appearances as they returned home from the competition.

The disappointing result was a catalyst for the team though, and they began working harder and practicing even more.

Their efforts paid dividends, as one year later, the school's girls' football team won the championship in Chongqing's campus football league. So far, the team has won trophies for football games at the municipal level and above 49 times.

A member of the girls' football team of the Sanhe Town Primary School competes in a match. (Photo courtesy of the Sanhe Town Primary School)

Qin Furong, one of the first members of the girls' football team at Sanhe Town Primary School, enrolled at Donghua University in Shanghai in 2023 thanks to her football abilities.

Qin said the girls' football team of her alma mater has been elevated to a more professional level over the past few years.

When the team was established in 2013, the team lacked professional guidance, and the school had to recruit football coaches to coach the team on weekends. "Now, the team has professional football coaches and receives more systematic training," Qin said.

In addition to better coaching, the school has also improved training facilities for its girls' football team. Current school principal Ma Jianwei said the school's pursuit of professionalism has provided more opportunities for students.

In addition to serving as a gateway to a better education, football has given some members of the girls' football team from Sanhe Town Primary School a chance to see the world.

The team clinched the title in the Second Zhuifeng National League in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, on Oct. 29, 2023. The Zhuifeng League, a national girls' football league for rural schools, is jointly sponsored by organizations including the China Youth Development Foundation.

Xiang Yuxia, then leader of the girls' football team, will be enrolled in an elite middle school in Chongqing this new semester. She recalled that she had never seen real seashells before she competed in Xiamen.

Xiang's teammate Wang Ruolan, who was the top scorer in the Second Zhuifeng National League, was invited to watch the UEFA Euro 2024 championship match in Germany.

The school has been able to produce many similar stories of girls achieving success thanks to the opportunities and teachings being a part of the football team has provided.

"Through football, the children have found a direction to strive for, moving forward steadily," said Sun.

In 2017, the Sanhe Town Primary School girls' football team was awarded a special award in the "Top Ten People Who Moved Chongqing" program. The citation read: Even without parental companionship, you still have love, happiness, and dreams in your hearts. You believe that as long as there is sunshine in your heart, you have strength under your feet.