Xu Zhencheng, a football enthusiast from Nansha: Transitioning from coach to referee, his passion remains undiminished.

Reporter Wang Wei reports. Starting from July 14, the whistle for the 2025 "Centennial Famous Schools Cup" football tournament echoed on the green fields of Guangzhou Youlian School and Hengli Citizen Sports Park in Nansha. Among the whistles was one from Teacher Xu Zhencheng of the Nansha Pearl River School affiliated with Guangdong Second Normal University. This native of Nansha felt deeply emotional as he officiated this nationwide football event right in his hometown.

For Xu Zhencheng, the hosting of the Centennial Famous Schools Cup football tournament in Nansha is of great significance. "I am grateful to the district's education bureau for the opportunity to be selected as a referee for this high-level event among the teaching team. Looking back, in the past, I had to travel far to unfamiliar places for competitions. This time, I am thrilled to officiate such a high-profile match right at my doorstep." He stated that this is the first time Nansha has hosted such a large-scale gathering of high-level football teams from across the country, which is a tremendous boost for football in Nansha. "Seeing so many high-level teams competing not only provides a visual feast but also teaches us a lot, greatly assisting in the improvement of football standards in Nansha."

Currently, football in Guangzhou Nansha is developing towards higher quality. The scale of social football leagues is continuously expanding, transitioning from 8-a-side to 11-a-side, with promotion and relegation systems implemented in the Nansha A and B leagues. The number of participating teams is increasing, and the level is continuously improving, with a batch of capable local players emerging. Moreover, Nansha is planning to form a professional team to participate in the Guangdong Super League, named the Guangzhou Bay Area Youth Team.

"Nansha is a young city with many young people developing here; football is also relatively new. I believe that in the future, more high-level young talents will emerge, and football in Nansha will show a trend of higher quality and greater development." Xu Zhencheng said with great anticipation.

Xu Zhencheng's journey in football began in the schools of Nansha. "I have always been part of the campus football youth training system in Nansha, starting from Nansha Primary School, then to Nansha No. 1 Middle School, followed by my high school alma mater Qilin Middle School, and finally to Guangdong Second Normal University. I have never stopped playing football." He said with a smile.

Unlike many children who received professional training early, Xu Zhencheng started playing football relatively late, only beginning in the 3rd or 4th grade of primary school. However, his strong interest in football kept him persistent. At Nansha Primary School, he met his mentor Wang Wei, and after graduating from primary school and entering Nansha No. 1 Middle School, he encountered another mentor, Zhou Junhao, who helped him improve his football skills. Reflecting on the football atmosphere during his middle school years, Xu Zhencheng admitted, "At first, it wasn't very strong; there were few competitions and participants. During middle school, the training frequency was even less than in primary school, but because of our passion, we constantly sought older players to play with." It was this passion that led him to choose to become a sports specialty student in high school and pursue physical education through national recruitment.

During high school, although the sports entrance exam took up a lot of his energy, he still cherished every opportunity to compete outside. Thanks to his excellent results in the sports entrance exam, he was admitted to Guangdong Second Normal University. Once in college, the opportunities for football expanded significantly; he joined the school team and participated in coaching and referee training courses, laying a solid foundation for his future football career.

As a local of Nansha, Xu Zhencheng has never severed his ties with Nansha football. Right after graduating from high school, he began working in youth training and refereeing alongside his seniors. During college, he also initiated public welfare football youth training projects in some communities and villages in Nansha District, giving back to the land that nurtured him with what he had learned.

After graduating from college, Xu Zhencheng entered the Nansha Pearl River School affiliated with Guangdong Second Normal University. When he first arrived at Zhujiang Street, there were not many children playing football, but with the strong support of the district education bureau and the efforts of him and his colleagues, they promoted youth training through collaboration and a combination of bringing in and sending out, using the school as a hub to drive football training in nine surrounding schools.

"Our school is a training base for youth amateur sports in Nansha District and follows a nine-year consistent education model, forming a unique football 'passing, helping, and bringing' pathway in Zhujiang. We promote football development through various means, including community, school, and society," Xu Zhencheng explained. Now, the school has ten physical education teachers, three of whom specialize in football, with two certified C-level coaches, providing strong support for football education.

Xu Zhencheng has personally experienced and witnessed the evolution of football in Nansha. "In the past, the football atmosphere in Nansha was not strong, with few competitions and participants. Now, based on the registration of youth players, there has been a significant increase every year. During district championship training and selection, it is crowded, especially in younger age groups, where the 11-a-side field is insufficient, with over four to five hundred participating in selections. At the same time, the Nansha Primary School girls' team, as the champion of the district league, represented Nansha in the city competition, showcasing their absolute strength, and we even won the city championship." His words were filled with joy.

The Nansha District Education Bureau places great importance on the development of youth football in Nansha, organizing multiple student football leagues each year to provide better platforms for children to showcase themselves, such as the district's primary and secondary school football league, with increasingly refined categories for participants, while also promoting the top-ranked teams to city and provincial leagues. Additionally, Nansha District is divided into several areas, regularly dispatching sports researchers and specialists to inspect and communicate within the districts, offering advice for enhancing campus sports work and providing substantial support in terms of manpower and resources.

Taking Xu Zhencheng's school as an example, the teaching staff has significantly increased. In 2021, the average age of teachers exceeded 45 years, but it has now dropped to 26, injecting fresh blood and vitality into the school's football education. Secretary Deng Bin and Principal Zou Gang of the Nansha Pearl River School affiliated with Guangdong Second Normal University, along with Vice Principal Wei Shanglin, who comes from a sports background, have provided strong support for the development of football in the school.

The school has also been recognized as a national youth campus football characteristic school, adhering to the philosophy of "cultural and sports characteristics create quality," establishing a special football curriculum with one class per week for each grade and organizing activities such as the "Principal's Cup" football cultural festival, enriching the campus football culture. On the competitive level, the school's junior high boys' football team has entered the top four in district primary and secondary school competitions for seven consecutive years from 2019 to 2025 and reached the top sixteen in the city competition in 2024; the junior high girls' football team achieved the district runner-up in 2022; and the primary school football team made it to the district top sixteen in their first district competition.

From a young football player in school to a dedicated football educator and referee for large-scale events, Xu Zhencheng's football life is closely linked to the development of football in Nansha.

(Intern Li Xin assisted in organizing this report.)