Over 20,000 Young Players Chase Their Dreams on the Pitch – Beijing’s Very Own "World Cup" Concludes
- Written by: Telegraph Magazine
The event attracted a total of 1,481 teams and more than 20,000 young participants, reaching a new high in overall scale in recent years. 
The "Baidui Cup" is one of the longest‑standing youth amateur football tournaments in China, and the only national youth football event that has run continuously without interruption since its inception. This year, the tournament broke new ground by moving beyond the previous format in which teams of different levels competed together, establishing two separate tracks: Popularization and Competitive.
The Popularization Group is open to all young football enthusiasts, championing the principles of "joyful participation and free team formation." It covers 14 age‑based competition categories, ranging from 6‑year‑olds to high school students. In the 6‑year‑old category, no rankings are recorded and all participants receive awards, with the aim of fostering interest and expanding the grassroots football base. Designed specifically for professional club youth academy teams, sports schools, and school representative teams, the Competitive Group covers 10 age categories from 8 to 17. Through high‑level competition, it serves as a testing ground to improve the selection mechanism for reserve talent.
A representative from the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau noted that the "two‑track" system marks the Baidui Cup's transformation from a standalone amateur event into a comprehensive youth tournament system that equally emphasizes participation and excellence, offering a valuable model for refining the youth football competition framework.
During the tournament, Fu Ming, an international referee who officiated at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, took charge of Competitive Group matches and offered this encouragement to the young players: "Win on the condition that you enjoy the game." Shao Jiayi, the tournament's image ambassador and head coach of the Chinese men's national football team, presented awards to the winning teams and encouraged the children to compete with courage.
"The Baidui Cup is Beijing's very own 'World Cup' for its children," said a post‑80s football enthusiast who had participated in the tournament as a child and now coaches a team. The event has become more than just a competitive stage—it is a summer memory for generations of Beijing residents and a cultural touchstone of the city's sports identity.
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