The Yangtze River Delta Gold Cup football match kicked off in Haiyan, with more than 80 youth teams participating

China News Service, Jiaxing, October 4th (Hu Fengsheng, Pan Chenghao) On October 3rd, the Yangtze River Delta Gold Cup Football Tournament (Haiyan Station) kicked off at the Yangtze River Delta International Youth Football Training Base in Wanghai Street, Haiyan County, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. More than 80 youth teams and more than 850 young players from all over the country met friends with the ball, sweated on the green field, and compared their skills.

On the standard football field, each participating team took turns to compete fiercely. The young players were strong and well-coordinated. On the sidelines of the game, parents and coaches stopped to watch the game, cheering for the wonderful performances of the players on the field from time to time.

"The venue hardware facilities, event organization, food and accommodation arrangements are all top-notch. Bringing your children to participate is not only a way to play football, but also a trip to broaden their horizons." Ma Yong, a parent of participating players, is accompanying his children to Haiyan for the second time to compete. This time his children are participating in the U11 category.

At the competition site, young players competed fiercely. Photo provided by the organizer

It is understood that this event covers six age groups from U8 to U13. The event lasts for four days and adopts a round-robin format throughout. The champion, runner-up and third runner-up of each group will be determined based on the team's accumulated points ranking. At the same time, the best scorer, best goalkeeper, best player and best coach will be selected based on the entire event data.

Wang Jinyan, the person in charge of the event, said that the participating teams come from a wide range of sources, including teams from Yunnan, Xinjiang, Gansu and other places, as well as local teams from the Yangtze River Delta. Young players from all over the world gathered in Haiyan to learn skills, learn from each other's strengths, and jointly improve the level of youth football competition.

It is understood that the venue for this event is the Yangtze River Delta International Youth Football Training Base located in Wanghai Street, Haiyan County. It covers a total area of ​​more than 200 acres, has 7 11-a-side football fields, 2 7-a-side covered football fields, and is equipped with 3,000 spectator stands, intelligent auxiliary rooms, 391 motor vehicle parking spaces and 710 non-motor vehicle parking spaces.

The base will start construction in March 2026 and will be officially opened in August 2026. At present, the quality of all venues meets FIFA standards and has obtained FIFA Quality certification.

This professional football base not only makes up for the shortcomings of Haiyan’s football hardware, but also becomes a new window to showcase the city’s image. Since the base was put into operation, more than 200 games have been held in Haiyan, including the Veteran Star Football Game and the "Aspirations to Trailwalk" Youth Football Open. At present, the base's event schedule has covered the whole year, and it is expected to host more than 1,000 events per year, with more than 50,000 training passengers.

In addition, Haiyan is forming a "Youth Elite Team" to bring together outstanding football reserve talents from local and across the country. Next, the Yangtze River Delta International Youth Football Training Base will also become an integrated platform for youth training, training, and competition exchanges, continue to improve the construction of county football talent echelons, and activate new momentum for the integration of sports, education, culture and tourism.

As a key football development pilot county in Zhejiang Province, Haiyan attaches great importance to the development of football, and the football atmosphere is becoming increasingly strong. At present, the county has 23 youth campus football specialty schools at or above the provincial level, including 17 at the national level. In 2025, a total of 18 football events and 489 games of various types will be held, driving a 14.6% year-on-year increase in the number of tourists in the region. "Playing football, loving football" is becoming Haiyan's new city card. (over)