Tibet is on the ball with support for football
Print Edition
Weeks ago, when Tsemu Chatse was gathering caterpillar fungus in the mountains, he received a phone call inviting him to join a soccer team to fight for the honor of his home county at a tournament in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze in southwest China鈥檚 Sichuan Province.
The call put him in a dilemma. Caterpillar fungus, one of the most precious medical materials in traditional Chinese medicine, is the primary source of income for his family but playing football has always been his passion. When he finally gained permission from his parents to play, he was too excited to fall asleep.
The tournament began on May 20 in the western Sichuan plateau with an elevation of more than 4,000 meters. A total of nine teams, each representing a county in the prefecture, were eager to be crowned champion.
As the goalkeeper, Tsemu Chatse鈥檚 excellent skills and calmness helped him save several key goals, leading his team to finish third in the tournament. 鈥淭he happiest moment is playing on the court,鈥 he said.
As a child, Tsemu Chatse and his friends played with bare feet and used cloth balls since getting a real football was not easy at the time.
But he said there are increased opportunities to play football in recent years.
Hao Zongshan, from the local sports center, said: 鈥淭hough many Tibetan children loved football, there used to be no field, no PE teacher and not even a real football available just several years ago. They used crabsticks as the goal and a basketball as a football, and played on a sand court.鈥
Over the past years, China has continued to improve sports infrastructure around the country and the number of football pitches in the Tibetan region has significantly increased.
Before 2016, Litang County had no football pitches but now has five, with another 20 planned to be constructed this year, covering all primary and middle schools.
Tsering Lhori, 14, is just one of many football fans in the county. His school team placed first in a local youth soccer league in 2017, which greatly motivated the young athlete.
鈥淚 want to go to the athletic school and become a professional football player and hopefully play in the Chinese Super League,鈥 he said.
Lei Hongsheng, from the sports bureau in Litang County, said: 鈥淚 believe there will be professional football players from the western Sichuan plateau in the near future.鈥
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