Students participate in a pole relay race during the "Future Classroom — Young Football Players Reunited, Building Future Football Dreams" event in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, July 16, 2025. [Photo courtesy of CSCLF]

Nearly 250 young athletes and students gathered in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, on Wednesday for a youth football event, aimed at igniting passion among aspiring players.

The "Future Classroom — Young Football Players Reunited, Building Future Football Dreams" event was organized by the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF), the Chinese Football Association (CFA), and the Zhangjiagang Municipal People's Government.

The gathering preceded the "Beibei Cup" Youth (U12 Boys) Football Tournament, which began Wednesday evening in Zhangjiagang.

China Soong Ching Ling Foundation Vice Chairperson Shen Beili opens the "Future Classroom — Young Football Players Reunited, Building Future Football Dreams" event in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, July 16, 2025. [Photo courtesy of CSCLF]

CSCLF Vice Chairperson Shen Beili opened the event, emphasizing that football encourages teamwork and willpower, not just competition. She urged participants to embrace the joy of the sport while building physical strength and developing cooperation skills.

Zhangjiagang Deputy Mayor Liang Xi called the "Beibei Cup" a flagship event for the city's football development, noting its 26-year history as the earliest and longest-running tournament of its kind in China. Liang also stressed the city's commitment to promoting football among young people and making it part of their healthy development.

The event was co-hosted by Liu Jianhong, a CSCLF council member and well-known football commentator, and Zhang Xinyue, a student from Zhangjiagang Phoenix Central Primary School.

Featured speakers included prominent figures in Chinese football: former "Beibei Cup" participants Yang Chen and Zhao Junzhe, both celebrated players, and coach Jiang Kewei, who currently coaches in the Chinese Super League. The speakers shared personal stories from their careers, discussed their passion for the sport and promoted values of "health, happiness and progress," as well as themes of patriotism and unity.

During the Football Playground segment, three former players — Yang Chen, Zhao Junzhe, and Jiang Kewei — led football activities for the children. The activities included warm-up exercises, a pole relay race and nine-square grid challenges. The children participated enthusiastically, energizing the crowd and drawing cheers from the audience.

The event concluded with students writing their football dreams on colorful stickers and placing them on a "Beibei Cup" installation. Messages ranged from expressions of love for the sport to hopes of becoming international players and strengthening Chinese football. Guests read some of these dreams aloud, encouraging the young players.

"I'm so happy to have participated in the Future Classroom event. It ignited my passion for sports and helped me find a new way to relieve study pressure," said Zhang Yuqing, a student from Zhangjiagang Phoenix Middle School. 

The Future Classroom is an extracurricular educational platform launched by the CSCLF in 2018. It aims to nurture well-rounded young individuals by inviting influential figures from various sectors to provide lessons on moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education.