National brand 14 people + Super 25 people! Xinjiang football has entered a new era of development

Reporter Chen Yong reports From 2010 "lone seedling", the first Xinjiang international player Maitijiang, to the current 6 national teams of all ages 14 internationals, 11 Chinese Super League teams 25 players, Xinjiang players have blossomed everywhere in the national brand and professional leagues, with the in-depth exchanges and further integration of eastern and western football, the development of Xinjiang football has ushered in a new situation, at the same time, the take-off of Xinjiang football is also promoting the development of Chinese football.

On June 6, in the 5th round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Asian Zone Round of 36, after falling behind 0-1, Baihelam's goal helped the national team draw 1-1 with Thailand, laying the foundation for the subsequent promotion to the round of 18; On October 15, in the fourth round of the round of 18, Baihelam scored the first goal to help the national team defeat Indonesia 2-1 and achieve the first victory in the round of 18. Not only in the senior national team, but also in the junior national team and the Chinese Super League, Xinjiang players are also shining.

National brand: a large number of people, prominent role

In January 2010, Maitijiang was selected for the national team and became the first Xinjiang international player in New China, but he did not get the opportunity to play at that time, and his national team debut was eight and a half years later - on September 8, 2018, in the warm-up match between the national team and Qatar, Maitijiang came on as a substitute in the 74th minute. Three days later, Maitijan made his first start for the national team.

From 2010 to May 2024, Baihelam became the second Xinjiang international, and then ushered in his own explosion in the national team: on June 6, 2024, Baihelam came off the bench in the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, and his debut was an official tournament, and he scored a crucial equalizer in the 79th minute, and the national team drew 1-1 with Thailand, laying the foundation for the national team to advance to the round of 18; On October 15, 2024, Baihoram scored a goal to help the national team beat Indonesia 2-1 in the fourth match of the round of 18 to win the first win in the round of 18.

At the same time, the low-level national team, Xinjiang players have achieved a blowout explosion. In March 2023, in the first round of the group stage of the U20 Asian Cup, three Xinjiang players Baihelam, Eiffelding and Shirzati started on behalf of the 2003 national team, and two Xinjiang players, Mutalifu and Abdullah, came on as substitutes. Prior to this, in the U20 Asian Cup qualifiers in September 2022, the national youth team returned to the U20 Asian Cup finals after 4 years.

In April 2024, in the first round of the group stage of the U23 Asian Cup (2001 age group), two Xinjiang players, Bai Helam and Eiffelding, started for the 2001 age group national team, and they both skipped the level to participate in the national Olympic team.

In October 2024, in the U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, the 2008 age group national team (national youth) defeated Bahrain 2-0 and drew 2-2 with South Korea, and advanced to the U17 Asian Cup finals. It should be noted that in terms of the U17 Asian Cup, the 2000 and 2002 age groups had missed the U17 Asian Cup finals twice in a row, but then the 2004, 2006 and 2008 age groups reached the U17 Asian Cup finals consecutively. It is worth looking forward to the fact that in the 2008 age group of the national junior team, Abibulla is considered to be the absolute core and the main attacker of the future national team.

Taking the latest national team training list at all levels as an example, there are a total of 14 Xinjiang internationals in the 6 national teams of all ages:

In the list of 27 members of the national team, there is one Xinjiang international, Baihelamu, who is the main player of the national team;

In the 28-man list of the U21 national team, there are five Xinjiang internationals, including Eiffelding, Mutalifu, Maiwulang, Abduheli and Shirzati, most of whom are main players.

In the 23-man list of the U19 national team, there is one Xinjiang international Yi Mulan, who is the core of the midfield of the 05 national youth team and performed well in the Panda Cup.

In the 27-man list of the U16 national team (that is, the 08 national junior team), there are 4 small international players from Xinjiang, including Abibullah, Yihesan, Elinizar and Buniamin, of which Abibullah is the core of the team.

In the list of 28 members of the U15 national selection team (that is, the 09 national junior team), there are two small international players from Xinjiang, Knowles and Elikamu from Evergrande Football School.

The U14 national selection team (i.e., the 10 national junior team) has one Xinjiang minor international player, Mu Sajiang, who is considered to be the representative player of the next generation of Xinjiang football.

It is conceivable that in the next few years, there will be more Xinjiang players at all levels of the national team - if 14 years ago, Maitijiang was still difficult to grow into a forest, then 14 years later, Xinjiang players have grown into a lush forest in the national team.

As the first international player to come out of Xinjiang, Maitijiang is still concerned about the national team: "I watch every game of the national team, and I will be very nervous. As a player, I'm part of the industry and care about the process and the result. Baihelam said: "My grandfather was very happy to know that I was selected for the national team. For me, running on the pitch is the best reward for fellow relatives. ”

Chinese Super League: 25 players, full of stars

In addition to the blowout outbreak in the national brand, there are also many Xinjiang players galloping on the field of the professional league. Taking the Chinese Super League as an example, there are a total of 25 Xinjiang players from 11 clubs, who are:

【Chengdu Rongcheng】Maitijiang (1 goal, 4 assists), Mutalifu (1 goal), Azmat, Bugrahan.

【Beijing Guoan】Nabijiang, Nur Aili.

【Shandong Taishan】Abdu Rousuli (2 goals), Mai Wulang (1 goal), Yimulan.

【Zhejiang Team】Ablikmu.

【Henan Team】Ye Lijiang.

【Changchun Yatai】Dili Yimiti (1 goal and 5 assists), Sabiti (1 assist), Abdul Haimiti (2 assists).

【Qingdao West Coast】Abdul Heli (1 goal), Maierdanjiang (1 assist), Yeerjti.

【Wuhan Three Towns】Eiffelding (1 assist), Abra Khan, Umitijan, Abdurehman.

[Cangzhou Lions] Dili Yimiti (1 assist, left to join Changchun Yatai in the second turn).

【Shenzhen Xinpeng City】Baihelam (2 goals), Xia Hezati, Nizamuddin (1 assist).

【Nantong Zhiyun】Nuali (1 goal).

In addition to the 33-year-old Maitijiang and Nizamuddin, as well as the 31-year-old Yeerjeti and the 30-year-old Sabiti are veterans, the 26-year-old Abdul Haimiti, the 25-year-old Dili Yimiti and Maierdanjiang are Mesozoic players, and the remaining 18 Chinese Super League Xinjiang players are all post-00 young players.

The 33-year-old defender Nizamuddin is a Chinese Super League player who came out of school football, and his story is full of legends: Nizamuddin was born in 1991 in the city of Artush, studied at Xinjiang University, and graduated from the Faculty of Law. In 2016, Nizamuddin started his career when he was 25 years old, when he joined Hohhot Zhongyou and landed in the Chinese League, and then he traveled to Beijing Renhe and Heilongjiang Bingcheng, joined Sichuan Jiuniu in 2022, and surpassed the team at the end of 2023 (the team was renamed Shenzhen Xinpeng City). In the last three years, Nizamuddin has played 70 games for Shenzhen Xinpeng City, starting eight of the 19 games this season, contributing an assist in the 3-2 win over Zhejiang, and also playing one game in the FA Cup.

His teammate Xia Hezati, born in 2006 and a native of Yining, was given the opportunity to play in the Chinese Super League as early as the 2022 season at the age of 16, and he came on as a substitute in the 70th minute of the match between Shenzhen and Wuhan Yangtze River. From the 2022 to the 2023 season, Shahzati has played a whopping 35 games in the middle league, in addition to two FA Cup appearances. In the official selection of the 2023 Chinese Super League, Xia Hezati won the "Young Player of the Year" award.

Not only the players, but also in the Chinese Super League, Xinjiang referee Mai Mai Tijiang is now a well-known star referee. In the 2023 season, Maimaitijiang won the "Silver Whistle Award" officially issued by the Chinese Super League. In the 2024 season of the Chinese Super League, Maimaitijiang has officiated many heavyweight matches, taking recent games as an example: in the 26th round of the Chinese Super League, he will be in charge of the relegation battle between Qingdao West Coast and Shenzhen Xinpeng City; In the 28th round of the Chinese Super League, he was in charge of the key battle for the championship between Chengdu Rongcheng and Shanghai Port; In the 29th round of the Chinese Super League, the key relegation battle between Meizhou Hakka and Wuhan Three Towns was handled by him. After that, Maimaitijiang was also the referee of the key battle between Dalian InBev and Shanghai Jiading Huilong in the 30th round of the Chinese League.

In addition to the physical fitness and love of football of Xinjiang players, there is also the background of Xinjiang football learning from Xinjiang, Xinjiang players feeding Xinjiang football after becoming famous, and the great exchanges and deep integration of Eastern and Western football.

Starting from Xinjiang and giving back to Xinjiang

These national team players at all levels who came out of Xinjiang are also feeding Xinjiang football.

On November 5th, Eiffelding returned to his alma mater, Kashgar Institute of Physical Education, and shared his growth experience with his younger brothers and sisters. On the 6th, Eiffelding came to the Shenka Youth Football Training Base in Kashgar City to train with the players of the Kashgar team preparing for the "Artush Cup" to impart experience and skills. "Eiffelding has come to Kashgar many times to help train players, and by giving full play to his strengths, he has injected new vitality and impetus into the development of football in Kashgar." Chen Jianfei, head of the Shenka base, said.

On September 3, Beijing Guoan player Nabijiang said: "During the short break of this week, I went home and went back to my alma mater to have a look. In fact, this time I went back to continue my previous public welfare trip, and I hope to continue to make some contributions to hometown football and Xinjiang football. At Shanshan County Central Primary School, Shanshan County No. 1 Middle School and Shanshan County Vocational High School, I distributed football materials to my classmates and shared my football story with them, hoping that in this way, I can encourage them to stick to their dreams and continue to pursue their dreams bravely, because I think that if I keep loving them, Xinjiang football and Chinese football will get better and better. ”

For many years, Maitijiang has also supported Kashgar football and Xinjiang football. In 2018, Maitijiang was selected for the national team again after an eight-year hiatus, when he was still the only Xinjiang international. In an interview with this newspaper, Maitijiang said: "I feel that I have a certain responsibility, and through my experience of being selected for the national team, more Xinjiang children can see hope." In addition, I want to say that I have also achieved my dream through my own efforts, and there is no shortcut on the way to this goal, and hard work is the premise of everything. ”

Love + self-confidence, the core of Xinjiang football

The all-round development of football in Xinjiang is related to the unique temperament of Xinjiang players, which involves a question that is often discussed: what is the difference between Xinjiang players? Generally speaking, the outside world pays more attention to the physical fitness of Xinjiang players, but in fact, compared with physical fitness, love and self-confidence can actually better reflect the characteristics of Xinjiang players.

He was a late admittance to the professional youth system and in terms of characteristic, he is an excellent runner but not very technically delicate, however, he has scored two of his country's five recent goals. The reason for Baihelam's outbreak, in addition to his super running ability allowing him to appear in the most promising position in time, another important reason is that he dares to play and dare to show himself, which is another characteristic of Xinjiang players.

Behind self-confidence is love, perseverance because of love, this is the essence of football. Unfortunately, a lot of young players are even players who have played in the professional league, they used to love football, but there are so many things that change their hearts and minds when they grow up. Xinjiang players are different, their love is simpler and more lasting, their hearts are more unrestrained, and they dare to show themselves.

Sun Jihai mentioned in an interview that Xinjiang children will pay a lot to play football, so they will seize every opportunity to practice, and they love football from the bottom of their hearts.

Beijing Guoan player Nabijiang also told the story of playing football when he was a child, and he was influenced by the atmosphere of playing football to embark on the road of football: "I started playing football at the age of 11, relatively late. Actually, I used to play basketball when I was a kid, but my friends all played football, so I started playing football as well. ”

The football exchange between the East and the West is silent

On November 5, the 2024 "Artush Cup" Xinjiang Football Invitational Tournament was grandly opened in Artush Football Park, which lasted for 12 days, and 12 football teams from Urumqi, Changji, Yili, Turpan, Tacheng, Aksu, Kashgar, Hotan and other places participated in the competition.

Artush has a long history of football. As early as 1927, the Ixak football team won a football match organized by the British and Swedish consulates in Kashgar, and today there are many football courtyards in the village that bear witness to the past and future of Artusz football. In the Artush City Football League in February this year, a famous quote from the host also became the best portrayal of Artush football: How important is football to Artush? It's like that handful of cumin sprinkled on roast lamb!

In this "Artush Cup", the head coach of the Yining team, Wutikul, was the captain of the 1993 national youth team, and like Maitijiang, he came from Luneng Football School, and represented Shandong Taishan team in the Chinese Super League in 2012, and played in professional leagues at all levels for 11 years from 2012 to 2022. In 2023, Utikul returned to his hometown and led the team to play in the Chinese Champions League as a head coach and player, giving back to his hometown football. Speaking about the Artush Cup, Utikul said: "The enthusiasm of the fans keeps us motivated. ”

At the opening ceremony, the Kunshan Youth Team also played a "Kunshan Friendly Match" with Artush No. 1 Middle School, which was an exchange and integration of Eastern and Western football. Such exchanges also take place in Xinjiang and in every piece of land in the country, such as the Northwest Youth Football Exchange Tournament in Xi'an, which is held in Xi'an and is related to the future planning of Xi'an football: as the only key city for national football development in Northwest China, Xi'an will face and radiate the five provinces and regions in Northwest China to build a regional-level football youth training center.

On August 9, 120 young players and outstanding youth coaches from Kashgar, Xinjiang, embarked on a journey to Shandong for a three-week intensive training in the "2024 Green Dream Lujiang Youth Football Training Camp". The training camp was hosted by the Shandong Provincial Counterpart Support Xinjiang Work Headquarters, Shandong Provincial Sports Bureau, and Kashgar Prefecture Sports Bureau, and undertaken by Shandong Taishan Football Club and Luneng Football School. For more than 20 years, Luneng Football School has been the base camp for Xinjiang teenagers who expect to play football in the eastern region.

Earlier, on July 10, the Shenka Youth Football Training Base in Kashgar City was opened. The base is built with an investment of 100 million yuan with the strong support of the Shenzhen counterpart to support the Xinjiang Work Forward Headquarters, covering an area of 90,368.2 square meters, with a total construction area of 14,358.68 square meters, including 3 11-a-side football fields, 2 8-a-side football fields, 3 5-a-side football fields and 1 beach soccer field, in addition to basketball courts, volleyball courts and track and field fields. The Shenka base is the first football stadium in southern Xinjiang to obtain the FIFA QUALITY PRO field certification.

After the opening of the base, more than 400 players from the U8 to U16 echelons in Kashgar trained here, and the base also held 22 sports and education integration trials for campus football schools, which held more than 780 games. In addition, the base has organized several training courses for trainers, and as of October 31, a total of 855 people have been trained. On September 4, the Xinjiang Football Association organized 32 professional coaches from the Shenzhen-Kashgar base to be stationed in 15 schools in Kashgar to help the development of campus football.

"With the goal of 'laying a foundation and strengthening a strong foundation', we deepen the integration of sports and education, integrate the traditional cultural content of the Chinese nation into the education process, and combine traditional values with the spirit of football, so that students can deeply understand the connotation of national culture while improving their football literacy, so that they can forge a strong sense of patriotism in their hearts. The future path of playing football children is not necessarily to enter a professional team, or to become a coach or referee, but the important thing is that football brings children comprehensive quality and perfect personality, and become valuable talents for social development. At the same time, we will dig deep into outstanding football reserve talents, start from the top-level design, community system, elite training, league system, resource integration and a large number of popular amateur clubs, etc., and use football as a medium to effectively and tangibly promote the sense of community of the Chinese nation, and strive to contribute to the strength of Kashgar for Chinese football. Xinjiang Football Association Vice Chairman Turahun Abdul Rahman said.

With the all-round development of football in Xinjiang, the in-depth exchange and integration of football between the east and the west, the brilliance of Xinjiang international players and the large number of Xinjiang players galloping on the field of the third-level professional league, football is promoting the development of Xinjiang's social, economic, cultural and sports undertakings in an all-round way.

Idol Effect: Become a Baihelam

"My idol is Kylian Mbappe, I know Baihrati, he's in the national team, he's the best. I want to be a professional player in the future, I want to play in Shandong Taishan. On August 31, Xi'an, the Northwest Youth Football Exchange Match, 11-year-old Maimaiti expressed such a wish.

In this event, sponsored by the Xi'an Sports Bureau and the "Football" newspaper, the Xinjiang Football Association selected two teams from the U11 and U13 age groups from the Shenka Youth Football Training Base, and 40 football teenagers from Kashgar exchanged and played with the Xi'an youngsters from the Primary School Affiliated to Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an Tie No. 1 Middle School and Xi'an High-tech Yilian Football Club.

At the Northwest Youth Football Exchange Tournament, Maimaiti wore short spikes suitable for artificial turf, because they usually train on artificial turf, but in the Xi'an game, the venue is natural turf, which makes him a little uncomfortable. "My mom was going to buy me spikes, but she didn't have time to go." Maimaiti said. After this competition, Maimaiti will have a pair of spikes that fit into natural turf.

Such stories and such longings happen to young players in Xinjiang every day. After Baihelamu scored a goal, CCTV once made a feature film, a group of children in front of the camera, their eyes lit up and chatted about Baihelam: "His skills are very good!" "When I grow up, I want to play in the national team!" "After watching Baihelam's goal, I am envious!" "I just worship him, and I will work hard!"

Talking about Xinjiang football, Baihelam said: "People in our hometown are very fond of playing football, and there are many children who play football. Now there are many players from Xinjiang in national teams at all levels and Chinese Super League teams. I believe that as long as they work hard and persevere, there will be more and better Xinjiang internationals. Now, when he returns to Yining, he will be warmly welcomed, and he has been working hard to help Yining's football youth.

Maitijiang is the first generation of idols of Xinjiang football teenagers, and now, 33-year-old Maitijiang and 20-year-old Mutalifu play together in Chengdu Rongcheng. Talking about his idol effect, Maitijan said: "They grew up watching me play football when they were young, and I am very happy to be their idol. Of course, they are the idols of a new generation of young players, and they have to lead by example. ”

Xinjiang football, China's football talent base

In order to further promote the development of football in Xinjiang, the relevant plans at the national level are being fully implemented: on December 18, 2023, the pilot area for the construction of the football youth training system integrating sports and education in the western region of the country was officially launched, with a total of 8 cities in the pilot and 16 cities in the key cities of national football development (two cities duplicated) constitute the two cornerstones of China's football development in the future, and also become the two major grasps of China's football development. Among the eight pilot cities, two cities in Xinjiang, Kashgar and Yili, were selected, demonstrating the great importance that the national level attaches to football in Xinjiang.

Many youth training institutions in the eastern region are also targeting the fertile soil of Xinjiang football. As early as 2001, the then head coach of Luneng Football School, Kekevic, personally went to Xinjiang to inspect and select materials, and then Luneng Football School and Xinjiang Football reached a cooperation, and at the same time established a scouting system in Xinjiang, and also provided perfect protection for Xinjiang players within the football school.

Since the establishment of Luneng Football School, almost every age group has Xinjiang players, and 7 of the 25 Xinjiang players who have played in the Chinese Super League this season are from Luneng Football School. Like Luneng Football School, Evergrande Football School, established in 2012, has also cultivated a large number of Xinjiang players, such as Eiffelding, Bugrahan, and the main central defender of the 08 national junior team, Elinizar, and the main midfielder Bunyamin are all from Evergrande Football School.

On October 25, on the eve of the final of the Chinese Football Association Youth Football Championship (professional club U17 group), Song Kai, chairman of the Chinese Football Association, and the coaches of the 16 participating teams had a discussion on the development of youth football. ”

Ye Zi, the leader of Rizhao Yuqi, told reporters: "We have recruited more than 20 players from Xinjiang, from 14 to 19 years old, and built a perfect echelon system on this basis. The choice to recruit players from Xinjiang was based on their talent, not only their physical fitness and hard-working qualities, but also their love for football and their courage to express themselves. We have full confidence in Xinjiang players and hope to make more contributions to Xinjiang. ”

Ye Zi was born in the Yi Teng youth training system, played in the first and second division, and his teammates from Xinjiang gave him a lot of help when he was growing up. In order to recruit this group of players, Ye Zi once stayed in Xinjiang for several months, did not go home during the Spring Festival, and visited every player's family.