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'Little World Cup' draws avid fans
By Gu Jialan and Ying Ning |
August 30, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE 2010 World Cup in South Africa was over, but here's football as usual for 22 amateur teams and 500 game enthusiasts on the athletic fields in Jiading.
Now under way is the second Juyuan Cup amateur football league match, which has become a sort of "little world cup" for local fans.
The Jiading football team, which has set its sights on the Shanghai Sports Games, played a friendly match against Shanghai Shenghua's Second Team on the evening of August 6.
The local amateurs showed no lack of spirit or determination when confronting their more professional opponents.
"This is our second match. The last time we lost to them 0-3, but we believe we can make a goal this time," Yin Hao, secretary-general of the Jiading Football Association, said with a confident smile.
In addition to the Juyuan Cup, a five-man match and a Shanghai district league match are held in Jiading annually.
The participants number as many as 2,000, and many excellent amateur teams emerged from the contests.
In the past, no more than two teams from Jiading made it to the city-level Yinbao Cup matches, but this year 10 teams will go.
The league match has proven to be the cradle of new talent.
The 22 teams play 11 matches almost every weekend. Members of the football association and the sports departments in Jiading District support them by offering free game fields and insurance. Amateur teams often can't afford referees, so the association holds training classes every year to groom referees from among the players. Thirty-four players have thus far been accredited as referees.
Although in their 30s, Yin Hao and other senior players never think of giving up the team. Juyuan Real Estate Team member Chen Yao once jumped on a bus back to Jiading during a break in some business negotiations to take part in a match.
The number of grassroots football fans seems to grow year by year in Jiading.
Now under way is the second Juyuan Cup amateur football league match, which has become a sort of "little world cup" for local fans.
The Jiading football team, which has set its sights on the Shanghai Sports Games, played a friendly match against Shanghai Shenghua's Second Team on the evening of August 6.
The local amateurs showed no lack of spirit or determination when confronting their more professional opponents.
"This is our second match. The last time we lost to them 0-3, but we believe we can make a goal this time," Yin Hao, secretary-general of the Jiading Football Association, said with a confident smile.
In addition to the Juyuan Cup, a five-man match and a Shanghai district league match are held in Jiading annually.
The participants number as many as 2,000, and many excellent amateur teams emerged from the contests.
In the past, no more than two teams from Jiading made it to the city-level Yinbao Cup matches, but this year 10 teams will go.
The league match has proven to be the cradle of new talent.
The 22 teams play 11 matches almost every weekend. Members of the football association and the sports departments in Jiading District support them by offering free game fields and insurance. Amateur teams often can't afford referees, so the association holds training classes every year to groom referees from among the players. Thirty-four players have thus far been accredited as referees.
Although in their 30s, Yin Hao and other senior players never think of giving up the team. Juyuan Real Estate Team member Chen Yao once jumped on a bus back to Jiading during a break in some business negotiations to take part in a match.
The number of grassroots football fans seems to grow year by year in Jiading.
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