Football boosts county's economy in NW China

XI'AN, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Yingpan was one of the poorest villages in Liuba county in China's northwest Shaanxi province ten years ago. However, teenage footballers and their parents, as well as tourists, have helped the villagers and local government earn over 30 million yuan (4.14 million U.S dollars) since 2019.

Changes started in 2008. That year, Shaanxi's sports bureau asked Liuba to promote women's football. Zhang Suyang, a PE teacher at Liuba Middle School, decided to establish a women's football team.

In the 1990s, he had tried out for Shaanxi's youth team, but failed to sign a professional contract. To make up for his regret, Zhang sought sponsors in the small county where 47,000 people called home. He also cooperated with his elder brother Zhang Suchun's Huoshaodian Town Primary School, in order to have more potential elite players.

Under this environment, Shi Xiaomin and Zou Mengyao, who shone at the 2019 AFC U16 Women's Championship, begin to chase their football dreams in Liuba.

Chen Jun, former deputy director of Liuba's sports and education bureau, said that although Liuba is less developed, developing a school football program helped the youth footballers pass the college entrance exam and reach a top-level university.

After establishing a "football class", Zhang put all the elites into one group. Each football class has around 30 players, representing male and female teams. Almost all the class were admitted by colleges across the country.

For not only participating in games, but also hosting competitions and acitivies, Liuba constructed a football youth training base in Yingpan in 2017. In the deep Qinling mountain, seven professional football pitches now stand, and several apartment blocks can house nearly 900 players.

"Between every June and October, the base can accept over 5,000 players and coaches, bringing in eight million yuan. In this year, more than 15,000 players and coaches trained in the base," Chen told Xinhua.

Besides the football competitions and training sessions, many footballers' parents and spectators wandered the streets of Yingpan. A villager named Luo Caiqin made a living by growing traditional Chinese medicinal materials ten years ago, but in recent years, she adjusted the structure of the commodities in her store, following the young players' suggestions.

"In 2018, the village had only four stores, but now we have ten," Luo said. The village also has 27 homestays, earning nearly two million yuan in 2021.

"More and more villagers begin to sell their local specialties to visitors and some other villagers are studying how to enhance their homestays' quality." Chen said.

In August 2021, China's national women's football team trained in Yingpan. After Shui Qingxia took over the head coach position, the "Steel Roses" won the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.

According to the local government's plan, Yingpan will construct several facilities, including a sport culture park, a football school and a healthcare center for athletes.

"Football will become Liuba's eye-catching business card in future." Chen added.