The core issues of professional football, campus football, and social youth training in Guizhou are gradually being resolved.

Reporter Chen Yong reports What is the most valuable thing in the 21st century? Talent. In the development of Chinese football, one of the core challenges is also talent, even in economically developed eastern regions and key cities for football development nationwide.

This summer, our newspaper visited various cities, and many issues revolved around talent. In Kashgar, Xinjiang, whether in the Kashgar region or the city itself, the introduction of coaching teams is both a focus and a challenge; in Zhangjiakou, the Zhangjiakou Ice and Snow Sports School, which has a 3+4 integrated system, recruited two goalkeeper coaches, but only one applied... In conversations with many football workers, they often sighed when discussing training methods and quality, including technical training, training volume, and intensity.

Relying on the "Village Super" in Rongjiang and the "Western Youth Training Pilot" in Bijie (a pilot program for the integration of sports and education in youth football training in the western region), and based on the provincial football development layout and the "summer training and competition" system enhancement, Guizhou football has demonstrated various models in talent introduction. The three football figures mentioned in this article correspond precisely to the development of professional football, campus football, and social youth training institutions in Guizhou.

▲ Guizhou Zhucheng Competitive Training

On the morning of the 12th, outside the Guiyang Olympic Sports Center. The field was a bit muddy after the rain, but Guizhou Zhucheng Competitive was still training diligently, focusing on small-sided games with constant tackles. The club's general manager, Fan Wei, pointed to a player on the field and said, "President Cheng is still training."

President Cheng is Cheng Junlong, the club's investor, who played alongside Fan Wei, Fan Yunlong, and others. After graduating from junior high school, Fan Wei continued playing, later becoming a member of Guizhou Zhicheng. He retired in 2014 and founded Qianzhixing Club the following year to engage in youth training, which is the predecessor of Zhucheng Competitive.

At the age of 15, Cheng Junlong chose to attend school. In 2008, he went to work in Shenzhen, and in 2012, he started his own business, establishing Shenzhen Xingjun (a semiconductor business) while also forming Xingjun Football Club to continue his football dream in amateur competitions. In 2014, Cheng Junlong returned to his hometown to invest in the Guiyang Comprehensive Bonded Zone Jun Guangdian Display Manufacturing Industrial Park, and in December of the same year, he invested in and took control of Zhucheng Competitive. Cheng Junlong and Fan Wei, two childhood friends who once played together, are now fighting side by side for Guizhou football again.

▲ Cheng Junlong is the third from the right in the picture

This summer transfer window, 37-year-old Cheng Junlong registered for the first team, finally realizing his professional dream, but due to the fierce competition for promotion in the China League Two, he has yet to make his career debut.

"I feel I can still play for 30 minutes," Cheng Junlong said, adding that investing in factories and clubs in his hometown is partly out of affection for his roots, and partly because of his love for football. "I just can't let go of football; while others have various hobbies, mine is playing football." After morning training, at 2 PM, Cheng Junlong will return to Jun to hold a company meeting as chairman. Now, he needs to travel between Shenzhen and Guiyang, playing football in both places.

Cheng Junlong hopes that professional football in Guizhou can develop steadily and that those who love football like him can play for their hometown's professional team. As a superstructure of football, professional football has received support from governments at various levels, playing a crucial role in guiding the development of Guizhou football. A statement from Li Yuze, the goalkeeper of the Guizhou U13 team and winner of the "Best Goalkeeper" at the "Spark Cup" International Football Invitational, exemplifies this: "In the future, I want to join Guizhou Zhucheng Competitive Football Club and serve my hometown."

Guizhou fans have shown great enthusiasm. The opening ceremony of the 2025 China League Two was held in Guiyang, where 31,569 fans attended the match. In the last round of the China League Two preliminaries, 23,813 fans flooded into the Guiyang Olympic Sports Center, making it a gold medal market for the league. Not only fans, but sponsors are also highly enthusiastic. Zhucheng Competitive is one of the few lower-league clubs using LED advertising boards, with a total of 35 sponsors contributing over 2 million.

▲ Opening match of the China League Two

When Guizhou players like Xie Pengfei, Luo Jing, Yi Teng, and Zang Yifeng are still battling in the Chinese Super League and China League One, younger players like Xiang Hantian have already retired and returned to their alma mater, Guiyang Second Experimental Primary School (referred to as Experimental No. 2) to teach. The school's Party branch secretary, Gao Yan, happens to be his former homeroom teacher, and the head of the school's football office, Liu Xiuying, was also his football coach back then.

Xiang Hantian is a player born in 1995, who was once a key player for the national youth team ten years ago. He scored the first goal in the Chinese Super League representing Beijing Renhe and became the first player born in 1995 to score in the top league. He was later selected for the national training team. Just as he was envisioning a bright future, he was struck by a cartilage injury, and in the 2020 season, he faded out of professional leagues at just 25 years old.

"I left Guizhou to play football after graduating from elementary school. I joined Shaanxi Chanba at that time, and I never expected to return to Guizhou later, then go to Beijing. After retiring, I rested in Guizhou for a while and ultimately decided to start a new life as a coach." During the conversation, Xiang Hantian laughed heartily, and the shadows of the past did not darken his life.

Xiang Hantian joined Guizhou Hongxing Club, which has long cooperated with Experimental No. 2. Naturally, he returned to his alma mater. He currently coaches first and second graders, and when asked if he feels underutilized, Xiang Hantian replied, "I just hope to accumulate systematically."

▲ Xiang Hantian with Cao Yongjing

Guiyang Experimental No. 2 is similar to Dalian Northeast Road Primary School—many national team players and professional players' alma mater. The school has teams for each age group, along with two girls' teams and three reserve teams, totaling 11 teams. The school has three coaches, while the cooperating youth training institution, Hongxing Club, has 17 coaches.

On the afternoon of the 12th, the reporter met with Tan Sheng, born in 1983, and Zhan Chenxiao, a teammate of Xie Pengfei. During the interview, the reporter noticed that the school is equipped with "Cloud Football" technology. This is no longer just campus football but a perfect combination of campus football and the youth training system.

"In addition to participating in various external competitions, Experimental No. 2 holds over 580 internal matches each year. We have also built a three-stage football growth system, from basic to advanced, and then to high-level competitions. At the same time, we actively carry out school-to-school cooperation (connecting with junior high schools), school-government cooperation (connecting with the government), and school-society cooperation (connecting with social youth training clubs) during the transition from primary to junior high to avoid the phenomenon of 'retirement at 12 years old,'" Gao Yan and Liu Xiuying explained. Gao Yan has worked at the school for 36 years, while Liu Xiuying has taught there for 27 years and is the first full-time football teacher in Guiyang's Yunyan District.

In the 37 years since its establishment, Experimental No. 2 has produced 136 players for the sports teams, professional clubs, and various national teams, including 21 active players. Most of the well-known Guizhou players come from Experimental No. 2, like Xiang Hantian, who, after retirement, began to give back to the school and Guizhou football. The fallen petals are not without feelings; they turn into spring mud to nurture flowers. This is a true reflection of Guizhou campus football and professional players.

▲ Xiang Hantian's team at the Starry Five Continents Cup

On the afternoon of the 12th, at Guiyang No. 1 Middle School, the "Chasing Wind Young Generals" U13 team (Li Duanfen Middle School Team) and U12 team were training here. The amazing story of the Chasing Wind Young Generals Football Club will be introduced in another feature. This time, we introduce a former professional player, Li Jichao, who moved from Tianjin to Shenzhen and ultimately arrived in Guiyang.

Eight years ago, while covering Tianjin Quanjian in Catania, Sicily, I spent some time with Li Jichao, who had just retired and become a coach, having coached at Quanjian and Jiazhong, and assisted Chen Tao in coaching the Shenzhen U21 team before becoming the head coach of the U12 team.

"Not only did I come, but my wife, child, and parents also came," Li Jichao said. He revealed that he had been working as a coach since moving from Tianjin to Shenzhen. "In my spare time, I help President Cheng (Cheng Junlong) with Xingjun. Coincidentally, the Chasing Wind Young Generals Football Club was looking for coaches, and they encouraged me to come to Guiyang. My son is about the same age as their team, and the club's incredible growth story, as well as Li Duanfen Middle School's high regard for football, deeply attracted me."

▲ Li Jichao with three generations of his family

The Chasing Wind Young Generals Club offers good personal benefits, including a two-bedroom apartment. To support youth training in Guizhou and Guiyang, Cheng Junlong transferred Li Jichao's wife from Shenzhen Xingjun to work in Guiyang. "Later, I thought, why not rent a place so my parents can come stay often, especially in the summer; it's like a vacation for them here," Li Jichao said.

At the "Spark Cup" International Youth Football Invitational, which concluded on August 3, Li Jichao led the Guizhou U13 team to victory. The main players of this team came from Li Duanfen Middle School (Chasing Wind Young Generals Club). That afternoon, Li Jichao took a photo with his father and son, marking a meaningful moment for a coach born in a municipality and coaching in a special economic zone, standing together with his family on a football field in Guizhou.

Data shows that the number of A-level coaches working in Guizhou has increased to 12, with 8 coming from outside the province; the number of B-level coaches has risen to 18, with 8 from outside the province. The pace of talent introduction in Guizhou football is accelerating, and in summary, Guizhou believes that the good football atmosphere it fosters is the foundation for attracting high-level coaches from home and abroad.

In Guiyang, in Guizhou, and in the West, such stories happen every day. In this exchange and integration, football in the West is also developing rapidly.