County Football: In just 5 years, over 940 counties and districts have joined this grand celebration.

Nan Nan reporting from Guilin At the Guilin Convention and Exhibition Football Park, the National County Football Championship final saw a 3-0 halftime lead, which greatly relieved Pei Jiangang’s worries. With such a lead, it would be hard for the Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Football Association not to focus on winning the championship. However, Pei Jiangang remains aware that until the game ends, everything is still uncertain.

Over 20 minutes later, with the score fixed at 4-1, Pei Jiangang smiled. While the players danced enthusiastically around the championship trophy on center stage, Pei Jiangang quietly moved to the side, subtly swaying with the music. From grassroots county competitions to the Corps finals, and finally to the pinnacle of the National County Football Championship, this man—once honored as a “National Advanced Individual in Mass Sports”—has played an indispensable role. “The honor belongs to the young players,” Pei said. “Thanks to the China Football Development Foundation for providing such a great national platform; otherwise, these kids might never have had the chance to become national champions.”

The National County Football Championship has given Pei Jiangang’s young players an unprecedented opportunity to showcase themselves, prompting us to further reflect and ask: what kind of competition system and platform has the China Football Development Foundation established? And how was this system and platform built?

Rewind to March 2015, when the “Overall Plan for the Reform and Development of Chinese Football” (hereafter “the Plan”) was released. Article 6 of the Plan, concerning the promotion and development of social football, clearly called for the popularization of football and the mutual advancement of social and professional football. By the end of 2016, to implement these policies, the China Football Development Foundation was established as a nationwide social organization under the General Administration of Sport. Its mission is to fund football public welfare activities, support youth football talent development, promote football popularization, advance football technology and public facility construction, and serve the national strategy for football revitalization and development, all on a non-profit basis.

In 2021, the grassroots county football competition, hosted by the General Administration of Sport and organized by the China Football Development Foundation, was launched. According to officials from the Foundation, 2021 to 2023 was the foundational period for these grassroots competitions. The Foundation set flexible requirements: as long as six teams registered, a competition could be held. There were almost no restrictions on player eligibility. Moreover, the Foundation provided financial support of 50,000 yuan to counties hosting grassroots competitions, and in 2024, regions hosting provincial finals received 250,000 yuan, with strict auditing and review of fund usage.

When the Foundation’s notice about the grassroots county football competition reached local sports departments, many were surprised by the funding support for organizing grassroots events. In many grassroots counties, it was unprecedented for the top-level design body of Chinese football to directly intervene in grassroots social football, let alone offer generous financial backing. In 2021, more than 220 counties and districts held the National County Football Grassroots Competition.

With the continued spread of relevant policies and the financial incentives accompanying the events, enthusiasm among county sports departments to organize grassroots competitions soared. From 2022 onward, the Foundation took over as the main organizer of the National County Football Grassroots Competition. That year, over 500 counties held competitions, increasing to more than 700 in 2023.

In 2024, the National County Football Grassroots Competition took place across 880 county-level areas in 28 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) plus the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. By 2025, it expanded to cover all 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) plus the Corps, with participation exceeding 940 counties and districts. After three years of grassroots competition development from 2021 to 2024, county football progressed from nonexistence to foundation consolidation and scale expansion. In 2024, the Foundation held the first national championship at the Kunming Haigeng Football Base, where the team from Hailing District, Taizhou, Jiangsu, claimed the national title.

A Foundation official stated: “The Foundation has created a three-tier competition structure: grassroots competitions, provincial finals, and the national championship. Downward, we bring matches into community squares and village fields, bridging the ‘last mile’ of grassroots football; upward, we provide a pathway for provincial winners to reach the national championship, inviting referees from the Chinese Football Association to give grassroots players exposure to professional-level competition, helping to build a clear, broad social football competition ecosystem.”

With the comprehensive rollout of grassroots county football competitions, grassroots players have gained official platforms to display and develop their skills. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Football Association was founded in 2019, and since the National County Football Championship began in 2021, the Corps has shown strong enthusiasm in fielding teams. The grassroots competitions have given youth within the Corps valuable opportunities, making football an important tool for ethnic integration. Among the team, “one-winged” Kaisar Hasmujian, who lost his left arm at 18 months old due to an accident, has become a media favorite. “Without football, I might have been very shy,” Kaisar said. “Football taught me to bravely face challenges and gave me chances to confront life’s difficulties. Actually, when facing adversity, we can all try.”

In the semifinals, facing another championship contender, the Guangxi Laibin Wuxuan Yuanjiang Concrete team, Kaisar’s team and their opponents were tied 2-2 at the end of regular time, leading to a tense penalty shootout. After goalkeeper Mai Wulan Abdu Reimu heroically saved an opponent’s penalty, the decisive penalty was left to Kaisar. Unfortunately, Kaisar missed the chance to end the match. Life never runs smoothly just because of public attention. Fortunately, the opposing team then missed another penalty, and Mai Wulan’s final strike sent the team into the final.

After the match, Kaisar buried his head deeply in Mai Wulan’s chest, who embraced him tightly. Head coach Zhao Hui said, “Kaisar’s story is inspiring; he has overcome great difficulties and made efforts unimaginable to most. This precisely illustrates the significance of football for the masses.” This year, these first-time participants climbed all the way to the top podium. In Pei Jiangang’s view, this is the fruit of ten years of youth football training in both schools and society within the Corps.

The core goal of the National County Football Competition is “fitness for all, healthy China,” but in the end, matches have winners and losers. Kaisar, a first-time participant, won the championship, while Mongolian player Bayin Aoliji, also a first-timer, lost all three group matches but remained undeterred. “For us, just standing on this stage is a victory,” Bayin said. He comes from Golmud City, Qinghai, famous for the Chaka Salt Lake, and works as a teacher at a local nine-year integrated school. At this event, Bayin served as both player and coach, leading a team composed entirely of Tibetan students he has coached for years.

To reach Guilin, Bayin’s team traveled nearly 48 hours by bullet train and high-speed rail. Just the trip from Golmud to the provincial capital Xining takes 8 to 10 hours by train. After leaving Qinghai, they transferred through Wuhan. Even flying back required a transfer in Chongqing, and after arriving in Xining, a long journey home awaited them.

Many years ago, Bayin also led a team in a national competition: “Back then, our opponents had professional players, and we could only endure heavy defeats. County football rules prohibit professional players, so now we can compete more evenly with many teams. Losing matches is mostly due to experience. If we get more chances like this, we will be able to win.”

The grassroots county football competition not only provides a stage for grassroots players to showcase their talents but also supports the Chinese Football Association in strengthening grassroots county-level football associations. Before these competitions began, many county-level grassroots associations, especially in remote areas, were missing. In 2021, more than 200 counties held grassroots competitions mostly organized by local sports authorities. As the number of provinces hosting grassroots events grew, many counties established grassroots associations to meet event needs. Moreover, the Foundation increasingly favored grassroots associations as hosts, resulting in more counties having grassroots football associations nationwide.

From 2021 to 2025, under the guidance of the General Administration of Sport, the China Football Development Foundation’s county football events have significantly helped fill gaps in grassroots county associations in remote areas, while progressively completing the full system from county and district to city and provincial levels up to the Chinese Football Association. This has effectively covered Chinese football’s entire spectrum—from social grassroots football to professional leagues and national teams.