How long does it take for football to grow from nothing? With practical efforts, we strive to create the "Bijie experience."

Reporter Wang Wei reports from Bijie. How long does it take for a city to develop football from scratch? After Bijie in Guizhou became one of the eight pilot cities for the integration of sports and education in the western region for one year and eight months, our reporter arrived in this western city with a population of 9.53 million to investigate this question in depth. Here, the reporter genuinely feels the various efforts being made for football, with everyone full of confidence. In fact, football is not that complicated; as long as it is taken seriously and the right methods are employed, there will be gains.

Bijie has a registered population of 9.53 million, exceeding that of many large cities, with a majority being young people. "Bijie is vigorously promoting the development of football, and soon, outstanding talents will emerge here." This is a shared view of Zhang Wenming, the Party Secretary of the Bijie Sports School, and Huang Dongdong, the Deputy Principal who has been assigned from the Guizhou Provincial Sports Bureau to the Bijie Sports School.

At the end of 2023, to deeply implement the "Overall Plan for the Reform and Development of Chinese Football," the "Opinions on Deepening the Integration of Sports and Education to Promote the Healthy Development of Young People," and the directives from the State Council regarding the development of pilot projects for sports and education integration in the western region, the General Administration of Sport of China decided to implement the first batch of public projects for the construction of a sports and education integration football youth training system in eight cities: Yanbian in Jilin, Ganzhou in Jiangxi, Meizhou in Guangdong, Liangshan in Sichuan, Bijie in Guizhou, Zhidan in Shaanxi, Kashgar and Ili in Xinjiang.

This pilot project has brought unprecedented opportunities for rapid development to football in Bijie.

"One in four Guizhou people you meet is likely from Bijie." This is a saying often heard among locals. Currently, Bijie has over 4,000 schools, with 1.66 million primary and secondary school students. It is a strong sports city in Guizhou, having produced 16 world champions, including Xie Yu, the gold medalist in men's 10-meter air pistol at the 2024 Paris Olympics, who hails from Nayong in Bijie. The people of Bijie, with a deep passion for sports, also want football to thrive here. However, before being approved as a pilot city for sports and education integration in the western region, Bijie's football youth training efforts were lagging behind at both the national and provincial levels due to limitations in facilities, funding, and enrollment policies. After Bijie was approved as a pilot city, the provincial, municipal, and county governments quickly coordinated to form a collaborative management framework. The Guizhou Provincial Sports Bureau and the Provincial Department of Education implemented various measures, issuing "Several Measures to Support the Construction of Bijie Football Youth Training Center," assigning experienced football officials to Bijie, allocating funds, and organizing support from Guiyang and Zunyi. In the face of this historical opportunity, the Bijie Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government personally planned and deployed efforts, establishing government-led working mechanisms at both city and county levels, forming special task forces to fully promote the pilot project.

After more than a year of continuous efforts, significant changes have occurred in Bijie's football youth training work, with several important milestones: On February 2, 2024, the Bijie Football Youth Training Center was inaugurated at the Bijie Sports School; on April 13 of the same year, the construction of the Guizhou Football Youth Training Center was launched, guided by the support from the General Administration of Sport of China for Bijie to build a national-level football youth training center, establishing a "one main and four auxiliary" structure; on May 22, the Ministry of Education announced the first batch of high-level comprehensive reform pilot areas for youth campus football, with Bijie being identified as one of them. Subsequently, the development of football in Bijie entered a fast track.

Huang Dongdong is an official assigned from the Guizhou Provincial Sports Bureau to the Bijie Sports School, currently serving as the Deputy Principal. He has experience working as the Deputy Secretary-General and Technical Department Head of the Guizhou Football Association and previously served as the Section Chief of the Training and Competition Department at the Guizhou Swimming Development Center. After graduating from Beijing Sports University, he has been engaged in sports work in his hometown of Guizhou, and he has a clear vision for football development.

During his more than a year in Bijie, Huang Dongdong has visited nearly all counties and districts, even towns. "Bijie is quite large; just the Qixingguan District has 53 towns. After thorough research, we divided the 279 towns (streets) in the city into 47 areas, each with two to three specialists responsible for grassroots football. Our competitions start from the towns, and if a school lacks a venue, we go to another school in the same area, which helps engage the children playing football in the towns." Huang Dongdong told reporters that there are now over 60 specialists "working with a map" across the 47 areas.

▲ Zhao Lei, Supervisor of the Bijie Football Association (left), Huang Dongdong, Deputy Principal of the Bijie Sports School (middle), Zhang Wenming, Party Secretary of the Bijie Sports School (right).

In October last year, the Bijie Football Association completed its restructuring, with Zhu Weiguo, Deputy Director of the Bijie Sports Bureau, concurrently serving as the Party Branch Secretary of the Football Association. "The high importance placed on football by the Bijie Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government has pointed us in the right direction. When improving our organizational structure, we fully considered the integration and utilization of various resources," Zhu Weiguo told reporters. Bijie has established a "123456" work strategy, clearly defining the goal of achieving results, creating experiences, and nurturing talents for the national sports and education integration football youth training system, stating, "Vigorously promoting football is Bijie's historical mission. We will take practical actions to form a systematic team structure."

In the past year, various youth training teams in Bijie have achieved the best historical results in national competitions, successfully ranking among the top in the province. The U14 girls' and boys' football teams won third and sixth place, respectively, in the first "Western Youth Training Cup," while the U13 and U15 boys' teams secured third and sixth place in the "East-West Cooperation Cup" (both representing the best results for Guizhou teams). Last Saturday, the Bijie representative team won the men's B group championship at the 2025 Guizhou Youth Football Championship.

From the beginning, the Bijie football task force set a goal: to strive for results, experiences, and talents in football reform and development, and to find ways to create the Bijie experience in the youth training pilot work. To achieve this goal, two tasks were clearly defined: first, to popularize football to promote the physical and mental health of Bijie's youth; second, to solidify youth training efforts to nurture football talents, firmly grasping the three links of "learning, training, and competition."

"Now, at the framework level for football, Bijie has formed a dual pyramid structure. For example, elite football teams are established at the county level, with one side focused on professional training and the other on sending talents to universities. This is the current blueprint for our work," Huang Dongdong said.

Currently, Bijie has innovatively opened up a 3+4 enrollment channel, establishing a "seamless transition enrollment mechanism" between the Bijie Sports School and Guizhou Engineering Applied Technology College. In addition, Bijie has collaborated with the Provincial Youth League and, under the overall arrangement of the Provincial Sports Bureau, integrated football youth training with the Western Volunteer Program to effectively address the shortage of grassroots coaches.

"In the past, the sports school might not even be able to enter regular schools, but now there are no barriers, and they are even welcomed," said Zhang Wenming, Party Secretary of the Bijie Sports School. "Bijie has geographical advantages (above 1,400 meters elevation), a demographic advantage, and policy advantages. Most importantly, there are many children who love football." Zhang Wenming still runs around with a bag in hand, seeking future opportunities for the children of Bijie Sports School, stating, "After realizing the 3+4 enrollment pathway for sports school students ahead of time, the children are eager to come."

Zhang Wenming also revealed that Bijie is in the process of establishing a China League team and is building a women's football team to participate in the Women's B League, striving to create a closed-loop system for football activities and enhance the football culture in Bijie.

▲ The women's football team at the center school in Gange Street, Qixingguan District, Bijie.

On the football field of the center school in Gange Street, Qixingguan District, a group of 8-year-old girls is training, their skin bronzed from the sun.

Since March this year, this school has connected with the Bijie Sports School to enter the "city-school cooperative" system of the Bijie youth training center. It is understood that the female football players at the center school in Gange Street have been selected from various counties in Bijie, such as Yu Xinyun from Jinsha County and Zhang Yueyue and Zhu Zihan from Dafang County. These eight or nine-year-old children told reporters, "We hope to represent Bijie football in the national team in the future."

▲ Guo Zhu, coach of the women's football team at the center school in Gange Street.

Notably, in terms of talent recruitment, the Education Bureau of Qixingguan District in Bijie this year has opened 22 positions for football coaches for public recruitment and expects to complete the hiring by September this year. "The district education bureau has opened 22 positions for football coaches, which is unprecedented and groundbreaking. By then, schools in the district will have professional football coaches joining," said Guo Zhu, coach of the women's football team at the center school in Gange Street.

Zhai Gao, principal of the center school in Gange Street, said, "To be honest, I think the children in Bijie are particularly fortunate. I believe that in a year or two, Bijie football will definitely cultivate talents, which will also provide more opportunities for our children. The series of measures to incentivize football in Bijie has also boosted my enthusiasm, and I hope our school can contribute to nurturing football talents for Guizhou and even the whole country in the future."

▲ Zhai Gao, principal of the center school in Gange Street.

Guo Zhu is the coach leading the women's football team at the center school in Gange Street. Previously, he coached a team in Zunyi, Guizhou, and when he saw Bijie vigorously promoting football work, he decided to return to support the development of football in his hometown. "Previously, Bijie could be described as a football desert. With its status as a pilot city for western football, more and more coaches are coming to Bijie. Schools here are placing great importance on football, and the base of football participants is growing, leading to an emergence of more promising talents. I hope the children will play well and study well, striving for championship titles for their hometown and for Chinese football."

"Coach Guo Zhu has a strong sense of honor for his hometown, and the team he has built over the past six months has already reached a high level," Huang Dongdong said.

▲ Kang Shengli, head coach of the U12 women's football team in Bijie.

Kang Shengli, head coach of the U12 women's football team in Bijie, is also from Guizhou. Upon seeing the recruitment for coaches at the Bijie football youth training center, she resolutely returned to her hometown, saying, "I was admitted to university through football recruitment from Guizhou. The children in Bijie are hardworking and not afraid of fatigue. I believe that talents in football will emerge here in the future."

Zhao Lei, Supervisor of the Bijie Football Association, is also advocating for the football development in this city, stating, "I hope Bijie football continues to thrive, with more and more people who love football getting involved, continuously enhancing the football culture and competitive level in Bijie."