KARACHI: As many as 30 Pakistani students studying in different universities in China were participating in month-long Belt and Road International Students Football League being played in China.
The students from other countries including Russia, Spain, Central Asian Republics, and Africa were also taking part in the league, Jian Zhiyong, organizer of the event told APP.
The opening ceremony of the league, sponsored by International Students in China and Hangzhou Hercules Sports was held in Yingbin, Hangzhou.
The champion of each province will participate in the national final on behalf of his province.
Jian Zhiyong informed that it was the first time that such an event being organized for the foreign students though there were different kind of soccer leagues and tournaments for the Chinese students where they can play and explore their sports talent.
He said that his organization has decided to hold this event to further promote passion among foreign students for football and added, “We are planning to organize it every year and hope for more sponsorship and audience for the matches.”
Giving further details, he said that eight champion teams were participating in the league and each team comprises of students from different nationalities.
He added that the event would continue for four weeks and the final match was scheduled to be held on December 22. The winner of the final will receive 50,000 Yuan and the runner-up 30,000 Yuan.
Jian Zhiyong said that it was golden opportunity for foreign students to showcase their cultures and also learn more about Chinese culture and society.
The league will also provide an opportunity to international students to understand Chinese traditional culture, understand modern China and promote Chinese and foreign games.
He said an amount of 600,000 Yuan has been spent on arrangements and in coming years, we plan to organize even bigger football leagues for foreign students if we have sponsors and a large number of spectators.
Numan Ali, a Pakistani student who was participating in the league said the event will not only provide a platform to foreign students to display their sports skills but also to interact and learn about each other culture and way of life.
The event was sponsored by Hangzhou Hercules Sports Culture company with the cooperation of Jiaxing Nanyang Vocational and Technical College, Jiaxing sports center and the co-organizer was Jiaxing dripping public welfare service center, while the supporting units were Chongqing Ychuan football club, Shandong football club, Guangdong Nanyue lion football club, Shaanxi Xuanyuan legend football club, Jiangsu Huanyang football club, Shanghai Mingcheng football club, Hubei Shenchu football club, Guangxi King Kong football club and Jiangxi Ganying football club.
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