BYD Supports the Dongrun Cup National High School Campus Football Tournament

When talking about Beijing Workers' Stadium, what people might think of are professional leagues, star players, and massive TIFOs. But this time, standing on the pitch is a group of high school students.

On October 24, the 3rd Dongrun Cup National Youth Football Finals concluded at Beijing Workers' Stadium. Tsinghua University High School ultimately defeated Shijiazhuang No. 2 Experimental High School 2:0 to take the championship. For these children who play football, playing a national final on a pitch like this is probably unforgettable for a lifetime.

However, compared to who won the championship, I think what is more worth attention in this Dongrun Cup is how many ordinary football-playing children it gave a larger stage.

Because not every child who likes football has the opportunity to enter a professional youth training system. Many people just play football in school, attend training classes normally, and participate in inter-school competitions. What kind of coach they meet, and what level of competitions they can play, largely also affects how far they can go.

I used to play campus football myself. Seeing Licheng No. 2 High School and Shandong Normal University High School in the teams this time, I felt quite emotional. Back then I often went to Shandong Normal University High School to play, I never thought one day I could go out of province to compete. Just being able to play in the Mayor's Cup or Quancheng Cup was already quite satisfying.

Now looking at these high school students, representing their school all the way to Beijing Workers' Stadium to participate in a national-level campus football event, this stage is much bigger than what we had back then. This is the significance of the Dongrun Cup.

This edition of the tournament covered more than 20 provinces, municipalities, and regions across the country, 352 schools, benefiting approximately 5,000 players and coaches. Ultimately, 22 teams came to Beijing to participate in the finals. As the event's top strategic partner, BYD, along with the Dongrun Charity Foundation, provided these campus football teams with opportunities to step onto bigger stages. BYD joins hands with Dongrun to build football dreams together.

To be honest, for playing football, just liking it is not enough. No matter how seriously you practice daily, if high-level matches are missing, many things still cannot be trained out. Taking on teams from different regions and styles is how you know where the gaps are, and learn things not accessible in daily training.

I used to think that campus football doesn't lack kids who like playing, but lacks better game opportunities. Especially for teams from ordinary schools, being able to go out to broaden horizons and play against strong teams is truly not an easy thing.

What BYD does goes beyond just supporting this Dongrun Cup tournament. Starting in 2024, BYD has organized football youths to visit countries such as Germany, Japan, Spain, Thailand, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and South Korea to exchange with overseas clubs, totaling over 200 participant-trips. Meanwhile, it has always been focused on grassroots football development in regions like Xinjiang and Guizhou, delivering football equipment and other support to local children.

On one hand, allowing talented children to have opportunities to experience higher-level football; on the other, enabling more ordinary campus teams to participate in quality matches. These two things are actually indispensable to each other.

After all, for Chinese football to truly develop, we cannot just focus on the few players who have already made it. We must also let more children have the chance to play balls and matches. With more participants and a solid grassroots foundation, it becomes possible to cultivate more promising young talents.

In the past, when we played football, we felt it was good enough to participate in city-level competitions; now, more campus teams have the opportunity to leave their local areas and even stand on stages like Beijing Workers' Stadium.

And BYD's continuous investment in youth football is simply to bring such opportunities to more children.

For these high school students, this might be just one match, but it is also a rare experience on their football journey. As for whether they can become professional players in the future, it may still be uncertain. But at least, they have the opportunity to stand on a larger stage and see how far they can go. Today, there is a Zhou Yuno in the team; perhaps through this match, everyone will improve their game, and there will be more national-level players later on.