The Century-Old School Cup | After three consecutive victories, the defending champion feels "immense pressure"

Reporter Chen Yong reports After winning 5-0, the children were all smiles, but the head coach of the defending champion Jinan Normal University Affiliated Primary School (hereinafter referred to as "Jinan Affiliated Primary School"), Wang Hui, wore a serious expression. "Although we achieved three consecutive wins in the group stage, we must recognize that after the expansion of the elementary school group in the Century-Old School Cup, there are increasingly strong teams, such as Shaanxi Normal University Affiliated Primary School and Zhengshanglu Primary School, not to mention the well-known teams. Xiamen Renmin Primary School was also a strong contender in the last tournament, and teams like Taohuayuan Primary School and Zhongguancun No. 1 Primary School have also shown very strong capabilities. More intense competition awaits us." According to the schedule, Jinan Affiliated Primary School's opponent in the quarter-finals will be Zhengshanglu Primary School, which is a crucial match for advancement.

On the afternoon of July 24, Jinan Affiliated Primary School arrived early at the Qidong No. 1 Middle School stadium, preparing for the final group match starting at 5 PM. In fact, after arriving at the stadium, they focused more on the two matches in Group C—these would be their opponents in the subsequent knockout stage. In the first two rounds of the group stage, both Jinan Affiliated Primary School and Wuhan University First Affiliated Primary School achieved two consecutive victories and had already secured their advancement, making this D Group match merely a contest for the top two spots.

Ultimately, in the crucial battle for advancement in Group C, Zhengshanglu Primary School defeated Qidong City Hehe Primary School to secure second place in the group, while Zhongguancun No. 1 Primary School narrowly defeated Yixing Experimental Primary School to take first place. Thus, the two veteran teams of the inaugural Century-Old School Cup met again in the quarter-finals. "In last year's Century-Old School Cup, we had a very close match with Zhengshanglu Primary School. This time, meeting again in the Century-Old School Cup feels like fate," Wang Hui told reporters.

In Wang Hui's view, the difficulty of defending the title is immense: "Our most important goal is to showcase the spirit of Jinan campus football and Jinan Affiliated Primary School, while training the team and allowing the children to gain more communication and experiences."

Main center-back Ma Yunrui was rested in the final group match. He expressed, "This is my second time participating in this tournament, and I'm particularly happy to compete with national teams from century-old schools. Although the pressure is greater this time, we will definitely give it our all."

In fact, Jinan Affiliated Primary School is not the top contender in Jinan campus football. In 2024, Jinan campus football was divided into groups based on the 2023 Campus Football League, establishing the Primary School Super League and the Primary School A-League. The Super League consists of 16 teams, while the A-League is determined through county-level preliminary rounds, effectively creating a three-tier league model that combines a two-level preliminary system and a two-level promotion and relegation system.

At that time, Jinan Affiliated Primary School missed out on the Super League, but after eight years of accumulation, they finally secured the A-League championship in 2024 and became a member of the Super League this year.

Jinan Affiliated Primary School is located in the Tianqiao District of Jinan, where the football base was formerly the Heavy Truck Children’s School. Between 2005 and 2015, campus football in Tianqiao District experienced a stagnation. After the release of the "Overall Plan for the Reform and Development of Chinese Football," campus football in Tianqiao District began to develop.

In 2017, Yan Shiyong, who had previously been at the Heavy Truck Children’s School, returned to Tianqiao District with former students to establish the Jinan Shengyong Football Club, collaborating with schools including Jinan Affiliated Primary School, which gradually revitalized campus football in Tianqiao District. With strong support from Principal Zhu Feng and Vice Principal Liu Yiming, campus football at Jinan Affiliated Primary School achieved rapid improvement, winning the 2024 Jinan Primary School A-League championship and the inaugural Century-Old School Cup championship in 2024.

The performance of Jinan Affiliated Primary School in these two editions of the Century-Old School Cup undoubtedly reflects the rapid development of campus football in Jinan. The Jinan campus football league, with its mid-week home-and-away match system, has greatly promoted the development of campus football and serves as an excellent model for the development of campus football in China. In fact, the 15 provincial and municipal teams participating in this Century-Old School Cup have showcased the characteristics of their respective campus football developments and have learned from each other through the competition, progressing together.