What attracts Beijingers to play in the "Zhangchao" league?

Reporter Chen Yong reports The popularity of "Village Super" and "Su Super" has led to an explosive development of amateur football in China. "Village Super" has ignited enthusiasm for grassroots football and is now being held nationwide with national competitions; "Su Super" has driven the development of local amateur football in provinces and cities, such as the provincial-level "Gan Super" and the city-level "Han Super," while also promoting the growth of amateur leagues under the China Championship. Furthermore, the China Football Development Foundation has solidified the foundation of amateur football through its promotion of county-level amateur football in nearly 900 counties nationwide.

The core logic is that while the adult competition system, youth competition system, and player development all have their own pyramids and foundations, from a holistic perspective, social football serves as the foundation of the entire Chinese football system. By stimulating interest, popularizing participation, and broadly disseminating the sport, the goal is to comprehensively increase the football population, thereby driving the development of youth football and the football industry. On this basis, campus football, youth training systems, professional systems, and national teams—including coaches, referees, and event management personnel—will also grow accordingly.

The amateur league segment of the Zhangjiakou City Football Super League (hereinafter referred to as "Zhangchao") showcases vitality in various aspects such as organizational model, competition system, and innovative features, with the semi-professional system being a key innovation. More importantly, "Zhangchao," due to its identity as a small city in Zhangjiakou, deserves more attention, research, and promotion.

Born in 1995, Qin Kai (shown in the picture as No. 19) is a native of Zhangjiakou. He played football at the Zhangjiakou Sports School during his student years and later joined the Tianjin TEDA (Tianjin Tigers) youth team, eventually entering the reserve team. Reflecting on his playing experiences, Qin Kai mentioned that he competed alongside players like Gao Zhunyi and Wei Shihao multiple times. "Due to family reasons, I didn't pursue a professional career and returned to Zhangjiakou to work after attending university in Tianjin."

In Zhangjiakou, Qin Kai first served as a physical education teacher at a school, and later joined the Party and Government Office of the Economic Development Zone government.

"'Zhangchao' has been running for 8 years, and I have played for 8 years; I am the most loyal fan of 'Zhangchao,'" said Qin Kai. "I was fortunate to encounter 'Zhangchao' upon returning to Zhangjiakou. The competition standards are high and regulated, and some of my older teammates played many years of amateur football before joining 'Zhangchao.' Now, they can't compete in the Super Group anymore but still play in the A, B, or C leagues, enjoying the joy of football."

Before making this statement, Qin Kai had just finished a match on August 5 in the "Zhangchao" eight-a-side Super Group, where his team, Linlong Sports, faced the Qiaoxi District Workers. After 8 rounds, Linlong and Jiguang Xingchen both accumulated 22 points, while the Economic Development Zone Northern and Qiaoxi District Workers had 21 points; this match was crucial for the championship. In the game, Linlong scored first, but the Qiaoxi District Workers equalized before the match ended.

"Zhangchao" began in 2018, the year Guo Zhiwei became the director of the Zhangjiakou Sports Bureau. Although the main focus at that time was on preparing for the Winter Olympics, football was not forgotten, and efforts to explore and practice the development of football through competitions began.

"Zhangchao" encompasses two levels: youth groups and social groups. The youth group competitions have been comprehensively analyzed in previous reports, while the amateur group is divided into five competition systems: (1) five-a-side league; (2) eight-a-side league; (3) eleven-a-side championship cup; (4) eight-a-side league cup; (5) snow football, dribbling king competition, 3V3 championship, and other special events.

The operator of "Zhangchao" is the Zhangjiakou Football Association.

"In the process of developing football in Zhangjiakou, the Sports Bureau, Football Association, Sports School, and Ice and Snow Sports School work closely together, with clear divisions of labor. Everyone pulls together to promote the development of football in Zhangjiakou; this is the core reason for the rapid development of football here," said Sun Fujie, secretary-general of the Zhangjiakou Football Association (shown in the picture). He also serves as the deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Xingyuan Group in Zhangjiakou. "I used to love playing football, but now I hardly have time to play, which is a bit of a regret. However, seeing everyone enjoying playing football brings me great happiness," he added.

The seemingly complex competitions have very clear distinctions: the first four events take place from March to October, with a systematic schedule ensuring daily matches and weekly major competitions, with weekday matches scheduled for the evenings. During the cold winter months from November to February, snow football and other suitable indoor special football events are held.

The two leagues operate on a single round-robin format, with the five-a-side matches held at the Citizens' Square Football Field and the eight-a-side matches at the National Fitness Center Football Field, both of which are lit fields. A highlight is that both events implement a four-tier promotion and relegation system for the Super Group, A, B, and C leagues; the eleven-a-side championship cup features 48 teams, totaling 104 matches, including group and ranking matches, linking to the "Ji Super" and above in the China Championship; the league cup has 62 participating teams, with a single-elimination format totaling 61 matches.

In the 2025 season, the "Zhangchao" social group will have a total of 336 participating teams, with over 60 clubs/teams involved in the system. The number of teams participating in the league cup is 62. Each club/team will send corresponding teams to participate in five-a-side, eight-a-side, eleven-a-side, and special football events. "The Zhangjiakou amateur league is unique in the country, with four major events, more special events, and numerous teams. The league also has promotion and relegation, foreign player policies, and transfer policies. In my opinion, even when placed in the context of international amateur events, it is very standardized and comprehensive," said Qin Kai.

In this match between Linlong and the Qiaoxi District Workers, the goal for Linlong was scored by Wang Minjie, while Li Zichen (shown in the picture as No. 16) equalized for the Qiaoxi District Workers—they are both "foreign players."

Li Zichen, born in 2001, is from Beijing and is currently a graduate student at China University of Energy. He represented Beijing University students in the first Youth Games and hails from Beijing Renmin University Third High School—a representative of campus football youth training institutions. Li Zichen has been playing in U series leagues since childhood and has faced players like Xie WenNeng and Liu ZhuRun multiple times. He still clearly remembers that Xie WenNeng's jersey number back then was 10.

In this match, Li Zichen was the brightest star on the field, showcasing his excellent skills and awareness with ease.

In fact, both teams had a real foreign player in this match. For Linlong Sports, it was Nigerian Gifter, who possesses exceptional one-on-one abilities; for the Qiaoxi District Workers, it was Algerian student Okba, studying at Hebei North University. However, since Okba is a local student, he is not considered a foreign player.

"Initially, I didn't plan to come to Zhangjiakou to play football, but later learned from friends here that there is a nearly semi-professional amateur league called 'Zhangchao.' Playing here is a great experience; the operations are regulated, the venues are clean, the fans are enthusiastic, and they have even created a mechanism for foreign player recruitment. I am very happy to come here as a 'foreign player,'" said Li Zichen.

Li Zichen came to play in "Zhangchao" in 2024, and this year, he has introduced two senior brothers from Beihang University to join. This week, Li Zichen has also been invited to participate in the "Village Super" national competition.

Li Zichen's willingness to play in "Zhangchao" stems from the semi-professional nature of the event. According to "Zhangchao" regulations, each team can recruit four "foreign players." Additionally, "Zhangchao" has strict registration and enrollment mechanisms, with unified management of player transfers and different transfer fee thresholds set based on player levels.

The semi-professional aspect of "Zhangchao" is also reflected in the high standards of event organization. At the five-a-side football field in Citizens' Square, the reporter noticed that there are multi-layered simple stands, a large screen, live commentary, and formal entrance ceremonies, along with cheerleaders performing before and during the match. The eight-a-side football field at the National Fitness Center lacks a large screen but adds live broadcasts and simple VAR.

During the match, when Linlong was leading 1-0, there was a suspected foul in the penalty area, but referee Chen Guoqiang did not call it. As a result, the Qiaoxi District Workers raised an objection. Chen Guoqiang paused the match and ran to the officials' bench. He and Zhangjiakou Football Association's deputy secretary-general Zhou Kai, responsible for broadcasting, began to review the match video. After a detailed review, it was determined that it was not a penalty, and the match resumed, taking about 3 minutes in total.

"We started live streaming in 2020, initially with one camera, then increased to two cameras. Currently, we have two sets of broadcasting equipment that can simultaneously meet the live streaming needs of two matches. Simple VAR was not available initially, but as the level of competition has increased and the confrontations have become more intense—such as the Super Group where the point difference among four teams is only one—it's incredibly fierce. In 2021, we purchased machines with replay capabilities to review key decisions. We can also control the stadium's surveillance cameras to replay and judge crucial offside calls. These measures help us resolve disputes regarding match conduct, making the events cleaner," said Zhou Kai. Regarding his dual role as deputy secretary-general, he stated, "I can now simultaneously serve as cameraman, director, commentator, and more. Amateur leagues require everyone to be versatile."

As the main referee, Chen Guoqiang just graduated from Zhangjiakou University this summer. He began officiating matches in his freshman year. "Over the past few years, I've officiated two to three hundred matches, gradually advancing from assistant referee to main referee, from B-level to A-level and now to Super. In the future, I hope to continue my refereeing career," said Chen Guoqiang. This critical Super Group match being officiated by a third-level referee who is still a student is a recognition of his abilities. The reporter also felt that his level is already comparable to many first-level referees in other regions.

A high-quality amateur league is beneficial for the overall improvement of football standards in China, and the growth of referees is one of its ancillary functions—only with more high-quality matches can we cultivate more high-quality referees, and the same applies to the training of coaches and players.

It is worth mentioning that the "Hebei Wuchao" has just kicked off, and all players of the Zhangjiakou team come from the participating clubs of "Zhangchao." This reflects the essence of amateur leagues. Over a hundred Zhangjiakou fans spontaneously traveled to Shijiazhuang to support the team, showcasing the football culture of this city.