People’s body talk： the charm of football and grassroots feelings

Source: People’s Daily Online-Viewpoint Channel Original Draft

On November 17th, in the second round of the 2022 Chinese Football Association Cup, the Chinese champion team Jingchuan Wenhui eliminated the Chinese Super League team Beijing Guoan 7:5 in a penalty shootout and advanced to the top 16. This game surprised many people. Losing to a semi-professional team as a traditional strong team in the Super League may be caused by various reasons, but it also made many people know more about the current situation of football in China and look forward to the development of grass-roots football.

The FA Cup is an independent knockout cup outside the football league in China, and it is also the only opportunity for low-level teams and high-level teams to compete together. Jingchuan Wenhui eliminated Beijing Guoan from penalty. Although there were accidental factors, from the process of 2:2 draw in regular time, the strength of the two teams was close, and Jingchuan Wenhui team even got the upper hand slightly. Two goals were remarkable. The players on the field were thunderous, calm and confident, and had a degree of attack and defense. In a game in which the strength is very different and there is no suspense, the audience felt the long-lost charm of competitive football.

Aside from the mobilization, cohesion and team fighting capacity before the game, we can find details that are easily covered up by victory from the voice of the head of Jingchuan Wenhui after the game. Jingchuan Wenhui said that the main reason for winning the game was that the opponent was negligent and could not use foreign aid. He attributed the opponent’s defeat to accidental factors and external uncontrollable rules. Compared with the simple ceremony of "accepting and accepting", he was polite, modest and humble, which was quite the bearing and pattern of Chinese traditional culture. Brutalizing its physique, civilizing its spirit, an unexpected game, let us see the momentum and indomitable feelings of grassroots football.

Football is round. The competitive characteristics and rules of the game make football not only have the integrity, antagonism and appreciation shared by collective ball games, but also have the variability of technical and tactical coordination and the contingency of game results.

"The prime minister must start from the state department, and the fierce generals must be sent to the pawn." According to the results of post-match interviews and data disclosure, there are 152 players in Jingchuan Wenhui Football Club, more than 70 of whom are local doctors, policemen, teachers and other amateurs from all walks of life, and 40% of the players participating in the FA Cup are semi-professional players. Jingchuan Wenhui Club is integrated with Beihai Jichi Club, co-built and shared with Jingchuan County key amateur sports schools, and has a champion team, an U19 echelon, an U17 echelon and an amateur team, which reflects the effectiveness of Jingchuan County Football Association reform. The development of grass-roots football in Jingchuan presents a good trend, which is not only the component of football professionalization reform, but also supported by the three-level training network of competitive sports national system, and the association, sports school and club cooperate and form a joint force. The deepening reform and practice of county-level individual associations, the development of county-level football clubs and the modernization process of amateur sports schools are all key and difficult points in the construction of a strong sports country and the development of grass-roots sports organizations. For the government and an effective market, it may be the internal logic of the wonderful performance of this grassroots counterattack.

If the road is long, the line will come, but it is difficult and more brave. We expect the society to pay more attention and support to grass-roots football, and we expect that the sports lifestyle with football as the carrier can meet the needs of more people for a better life!