Yanbian, 3 March -- Topic: Youth training does not stop and the fire does not go out Yanbian football has been up and down several times and renewed
China News Network reporter Guo Jia
After a long winter, Longjing Dongshengyong Football Town is lively again. Yanbian Longding Football Club U19 players train here every day, and after the team qualified for the China League One in 2022, this group of young people are eager to enter the first team as soon as possible and show themselves on a bigger stage.
Yanbian Prefecture in Jilin Province is the only Korean autonomous prefecture and the largest Korean population in China. The locals love football, and there are football associations and leagues in all counties and cities. Since the 20s of the 50th century, more than 40 international players such as Gao Zhongxun and Jin Guangzhu have come out here, and more than 400 players have played in various clubs. Therefore, the industry also circulates the saying of "Nanmei County, North Yanbian".
As a frontier region, Yanbian Prefecture has "congenitally deficiencies" in the wave of marketization of Chinese football, and Yanbian has twice withdrawn from the Chinese Super League due to financial pressure, most recently in 2019, when Yanbian was disbanded and absent from the Chinese Professional Football League for the first time.
Daily training of Yanbian Longding team U19 players. Photo by Liu Dong
The more difficult it is, the more it shows the deep heritage of Yanbian football. A team that has only been established for 4 years and has an average age of less than 20 years old has successively stood out in the China Championship and China Second League. This is the Yanbian Longding team, a team born and raised in Yanbian Prefecture. In 2022, Yanbian Longding team successfully entered the China League One. Lian Hongri, deputy general manager of Yanbian Longding Football Club, lamented that this team that was in danger continued the bloodline of Yanbian professional football.
Another identity of Lian Hongri is the deputy general manager of Longjing Dongsheng Chung Football Culture Town. He said that the local people love football, and the government also strongly supports the development of football, and the investment and construction of this football town meets the expectations of all parties.
At present, Longjing Dongshengyong Football Town has built 12 11-a-side football fields, which are usually an important venue for youth training in Yanbian Prefecture, and on weekends it is a "carnival stage" for fans, and the strong football culture makes this place always full of happy atmosphere.
When the reporter was interviewing in the local area, the U19 players of Yanbian Longding were preparing for the China Youth Football League, these players are mainly Korean, and the 17-year-old Jin Guanghui is tall and thin, and trains particularly seriously. He said that every member of the team is aware of the responsibility on their shoulders. Speaking of Yanbian football celebrities, the youngster showed great self-confidence, "We want to surpass more than to catch up with our predecessors".
Over the years, Yanbian football's fierce and strong style of play and all-attack and all-defense style have been talked about by fans and have become a unique existence in Chinese football. For this group of young people, Lian Hongri commented that he was very pleased that they inherited the spiritual quality of Yanbian football.
China has always attached great importance to football youth training, which is well reflected in Yanbian Prefecture. Over the years, Yanbian Prefecture has continuously increased its support for football, and finally established a multi-level competition system with youth football and social football in parallel and normalized scale, laying a solid foundation for the new life of Yanbian football.
Lian Hongri introduced that during the most difficult time of Yanbian football, all departments across the state did not interrupt the training of youth football talents. There are more than 1000,300 youth football competitions in the state every year, more than 7000 teams and more than 200,10 participants, and more than <>,<> people participate in football out of the state's population of more than <> million.
The reporter learned that Yanbian football has always maintained a reserve echelon of five age groups, and more than 80% of the players are locally trained, which is quite rare in Chinese football.
Lian Hongri said frankly that this is the "magic weapon" of Yanbian football to get out of the trough again and again. During the interview, Lian Hongri shared an old photo with reporters - the stadium was full, and fans climbed trees to watch the game. "With them, the flame of Yanbian football will never be extinguished." (End)