The 2016 Xiamen International Youth Schoolyard Soccer Tournament drew to a close on Aug 12, after five days of fierce competition.
A total of 12 international teams were invited to the tournament that was staged for players aged between 16 and 18. Among them, five are foreign teams, coming from Australia, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. The Australian team from Sunshine Coast in Queensland won the championship, after defeating the soccer team of Xiamen No 2 High School in a 2- 1 victory. The Chinese team had won the silver medal at the national tournament for middle school students in 2015. The Czech team came third, consisting of talented young players from the Olomouc region.
The Czech team during training. [Photo from xmnn.cn]
An officer from the foreign and overseas Chinese affairs office of Xiamen said that more foreign teams responded to their invites, however they couldn't attend since the tournament had previously been postponed due to scheduling constraints.
The Thai team during a training session. [Photo from xmnn.cn]
Besides the No 2 High School team, two other Xiamen teams also participated in the tournament, along with four other domestic teams, including from Halar in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Qingdao in Shandong province, Shanghai Municipality, and the Yanbian Chosen autonomous prefecture in Jilin province.
A senior officer from Xiamen's education bureau, Hong Jianjun, pointed out that this tournament included all four regions appointed to pilot innovative soccer training programs on schoolyards by the Ministry of Education, namely the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Qingdao city, Yanbian Chosen autonomous prefecture and Xiamen city.
Besides an intense schedule of soccer matches; school visits and solidarity events were also arranged for foreign students to get to know youth culture in China.
On Aug 14, a send-off party was given for the visiting teams, with folk tunes and pop songs from different countries being played to create a sense of a melting-pot of cultures, offering another way to exchange aspects of different cultures.
Young soccer players pose for photographs. [Photo from xmfo.gov.cn]
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
