A century-old prestigious school cup | A team flag worth collecting, a seed quietly planted in Anyuan

Written by/Nan Nan If it weren't for the participation of Jiulong Primary School in the second Century-Old Prestigious School Football Elite Exchange Tournament, many young players might not have heard of Anyuan County—this is a fully red county in the revolutionary base area, deeply rooted in red culture. This county, adjacent to the strong football county of Dingnan in Ganzhou, covers a total area of 2,350 square kilometers, and according to the seventh national census, Anyuan's permanent population is less than 350,000.

Traveling to Qidong, Jiangsu to compete, Jiulong Primary School, with a history of 120 years, made a significant commitment. With only a small 30X30 meter field on campus, most of Jiulong Primary School's football activities are conducted in a five-a-side format, and county-level competitions are mostly five-a-side as well. Jiulong Primary School has previously ranked among the top in county competitions, but the eight-a-side format for this exchange tournament posed a challenge for them. The two formats of five-a-side and eight-a-side football are completely different, and neither the children nor the teachers at the school were familiar with it. In fact, there are not many children playing football in Anyuan County, and the policy support is also insufficient.

Although adjacent to Dingnan, which has a national youth football training center, the development of campus football in Anyuan is far behind that of Dingnan. Many sixth-grade students have switched to basketball. “Our policies are not as strong as those in Dingnan, and the conditions for facilities are also limited, so the development of campus football here is somewhat slow,” said Lai Xuewen, the coach of Jiulong Primary School's representative team. “However, since we signed up, we must show our spirit from Ganzhou, and even if we are not strong, we should take every match seriously.”

The children of Jiulong Primary School practice infrequently and play even less; opportunities for away games, especially to compete in other provinces, are extremely rare. Compared to their group opponents, Chongqing Nankai, defending champions Jishi Primary School, and Wuhan University First Affiliated Primary School, most of Jiulong Primary School's children appeared quite inexperienced on the field. They did not have their own team flag and were unaware of the tradition of exchanging flags before matches. When they received the team flag sent by their opponent, Wuhan University First Affiliated Primary School, the children were at a loss, and the teacher in charge did not know how to handle it, even suggesting that the children return the flag to the opponent. When staff explained that it was a gift exchanged between the two teams, the teacher felt a bit embarrassed for not preparing such a gift, but then he excitedly expressed the desire to take the flag back to the school for proper collection.

Upon arriving in Qidong, Jiangsu, the children of Jiulong Primary School saw Zheng Shanglu Primary School, which has won national championships, and Shaanxi Normal University Affiliated Primary School. They witnessed the defending champions of the Century-Old Prestigious School Cup, Jishi Primary School, and observed the different forms of campus football across the country, also seeing themselves within campus football.

In contrast to the organized warm-ups of their opponents, the warm-up for the Jiulong Primary School children consisted of running and jumping on the field, with coach Lai Xuewen even borrowing a ball from the opponents to warm up. In fact, Lai Xuewen often plays the role of an athletics teacher at the school, and leading the team is also a learning experience for him. During the first match, it was evident that he was not familiar with directing the team, but soon, in the second round of the group stage, reporters could see him skillfully directing the team during counterattacks.

In youth competitions, especially among primary school age groups, significant disparities in strength often lead to large score differences and one-sided matches. However, Jiulong Primary School does not mind; despite feeling unhappy about losing, they improve with each game. The children step onto the field every day with smiles, and isn't the essence of campus football to engage and play? To kick off, to play, is the first step.

Number 7, Tang Zhen, is one of the 12 participants from Jiulong Primary School with a solid football foundation; he is a player for the Jiulong County team. When introducing himself, Tang Zhen's confidence was evident: “Tang from the Tang Dynasty, Zhen from revitalizing China. I want to become a professional player in the future.” Youthful ambitions are not clouded by worries. After suffering two consecutive heavy defeats, Tang Zhen cried; he knew that many opponents in this exchange tournament were stronger than his team, and there were many new teammates in his squad, but the defeats did not shake his goal. Jiulong Primary School's strategy is to utilize his abilities for counterattacks. In the second group match, he finally scored the team's first goal in this exchange tournament. After the match, his teammates hugged Tang Zhen and said, “We scored, scoring isn’t shameful.”

The spark of campus football continues to ignite; next door in Dingnan, it has already been inscribed on the map of professional football, overshadowing most surrounding administrative regions. Anyuan may just be an inconspicuous observer hiding in the shadows. However, the original intention of the Century-Old Prestigious School Cup is to bring together teams and children from across the country with different levels of development, allowing them to stand on the same field and enjoy the joy of football, and then consider communication, learning, and even improvement.

For many children, winning naturally brings more joy, but for Jiulong Primary School in Anyuan, stepping out of Jiangxi and standing on this stage requires immense courage. South Korean coach Lee Jang-soo told the children during the interactive session of the "Master Sharing Session" that asking questions itself requires courage. Only by seeing the vast world can one develop a heart for growth. The staff of Jiulong Primary School stated that they would report back and explore opportunities to keep up with the national pace and develop eight-a-side competitions in the county.

When the heart is moved, the steps will not be too far off. Perhaps, the Century-Old Prestigious School Football Elite Exchange Tournament has already planted a seed in Anyuan.