Footballers prepare for crescendo toward Macao

The largest 11-person football league match in Zhuhai will kick off at the end of this month as 16 teams face off in 76 games during most of the year.

Zhuhai Football League Matches are divided into three periods – April-June, September-November, and December. Winning teams will represent Zhuhai in the annual league game against Macao.

An April 17 press conference at the Zhuhai International Convention & Exhibition Center (CEC) announced the opening of the event. Present were international heavyweights Soccerex Chairman Tony Martin and footballer Hernán Jorge Crespo, formerly of the Argentine national team.

Martin wrote in a congtulatory letter: "I'm very pleased that we brought Soccerex to China for the very first time. I'd like to say thank you for the support and sponsor of Da Heng Qin in hosting Soccerex China in Zhuhai. I wish you all the best and a great success in the near future!"

Launch ceremony

Fatma Samoura, secretary general of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), wrote: "Football is a universal language; in the development strategy of FIFA, China possess an important position." She anticipated that the Zhuhai Football League would attract more to participate in the sport, popularize youth football, and promote its sustainable development.

Samoura attended the Soccerex China 2018 on the same day at the CEC and presented sponsor Zhuhai Da Heng Qin Investment with an autographed FIFA flag as a gift.

The tournament will raise Zhuhai's profile as a city of taste, glamour, and vitality, while also creating a city that is livable, healthy, and vigorous without shortage of employment opportunities, declared Zhu Jie, vice general manager of Da Heng Qin.

Wu Xiangming at the podium

Attending were Cheng Zhiwen, vice president of the Guangdong Football Association; Frederico Ma, Youth Committee chief of the Macao Chamber of Commerce; and Wu Xiangming, deputy director of the Zhuhai Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau.

Hosted by Da Heng Qin Culture & Media and the Zhuhai All Sports Federation, the event will be locally overseen by the Zhuhai Football Association and Zhuhai News Media Holdings under the auspices of the Guangdong Football Association and Zhuhai Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau. It is supported by the Hengqin New Area Administrative Committee, Hengqin Bureau of Social Affairs, and Zhuhai Da Heng Qin Investment.

The formation of an amateur football competition and social football activities systems promotes Zhuhai's football brand. It is listed in the city's 13th Five-Year Plan for Sports Development (2016-20).

Attendees [Photos by Zhu Xi / Zhuhai Daily]