The growth of football in China at a grassroots level is coming along at a rapid pace, especially outside traditionally top-tier cities. In 2011, the country only had two teams, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai, but now there are around 70. Here is a quick profile of three of the country’s newly-formed football teams. Xi’an Dark Tide

The Dark Tide were founded a few years ago as the Xi’an Stormers, but they recently changed their name to what it is now. They are Shaanxi Province’s first football team, but have faced many challenges in trying to build up the team. Life in the Huddle recently spoke to team captain Wu Ge to learn more about the team.

LITH: How was your team started, and why did you want to start a football team?

Wu: At first, the goal of forming our new team was simple, we just loved football. Later, we started to meet more and more people through football, even though some left the team, and we realized that not only do we love this sport, we love the feeling of going to battle on the field with guys that you share the same ideals with. This feeling is different from what you would get with teammates in soccer or basketball, because this sport is still lesser-known in China, so you know that those who are willing to play this sport are truly invested in it.

LITH: What has been the biggest challenge in forming a new team?

Wu: Our biggest challenge has been recruiting new players, and I would imagine most new teams would have this challenge. So many people think football is too violent, too dangerous, or they just don’t want to try something new, so they immediately wouldn’t want to play. Those who give it a try and stay on with the team are therefore pretty rare. At first the degree to which we promoted our team was pretty small, since we didn’t have too many people to even get the word out, and one person can only think of so many ideas to promote the team. It takes our entire team’s sacrifice, effort, brainpower, resources, willingness to stand out, and money to overcome this challenge.

LITH: What are your plans for this season, and are you trying to join a league?

Wu: We have received invitations to join both the AFLC and City Bowl, it’s just that at this stage we’re still trying to recruit new members. We don’t have many players, our skills need improving, and we also need coaches. Many of our players don’t really know which position suits them yet, so we still have a ways to go before we can become a team that is ready to play games. But of course, if other teams would be willing to practice with us and exchange knowledge of the game, that would help us improve, and we would wholeheartedly welcome that.

Chongqing Mountain City Fury (McFury)

The Mountain City Fury are a team that was formed very recently, becoming Chongqing’s third amateur football team, after the Dockers and Centaurs. Sichuan has been known as one of the real hotbeds of football activity in China, and the formation of a new team will only add to the competitiveness of the game in this region. We checked in with team captain Frank Chen to learn more about this new club.

LITH: Tell us about your team’s origins.

Frank: The team was founded in December 2016 by a couple of football enthusiasts. A number of our players have played on other amateur teams before, and joined our team for personal reasons. “McFury” is a name specific to our team, in that it is a shorter version of our full name, the “Mountain City Fury”.

LITH: What has been the biggest challenge in forming a new team?

Frank: Because we’re a completely new team, everything has been started from scratch. Promoting the team, training players completely new to the game, putting it all together to try and join one of China’s football leagues, these are the biggest challenges that we have faced. We’re an amateur team, and we still don’t have sponsors, so everything that we have has been paid for by the players themselves. So how to utilize the resources that we do have, and utilize the players we currently have, that’s the biggest challenge for me personally right now. For the team this season, we just want to be competitive in our games.

LITH: Is your team trying to join a league this season?

Frank: Yes, we’re looking to join the AFLC this year.

Guiyang Jungle Fighters

The founding of the Guiyang Jungle Fighters has been a long time coming, as the game has been promoted in the city for a few years, but the team itself has just recently begun practicing. The team has joined the City Bowl, and will play a schedule of three games, as well as a joint practice with last season’s league champions, the Beijing Cyclones. We spoke with captain Sun Tongfei about the team’s origins, challenges they face, and goals for this season.

LITH: How was your team founded?

Sun: In 1996, South China Agricultural University started a rugby team, which won the 1998 college national championship, and participated in various tournaments across Asia. I was a member of these teams, and I played rugby for a while, before finding out about American football when I was in Shanghai from 2008-2012. I started promoting football in Guiyang in 2013 and started a football team, and a couple years later a few players who had played football outside of China joined the team. We then formed the Guiyang Jungle Fighters football team.

LITH: What is the biggest challenge your team has faced so far?

Sun: As a leader of the team, I stress the excitement and passion of the game, as well as the teamwork, encouragement, and spirit of not giving up that the sport requires. The biggest challenge that faces us is having enough players, as well as improving their skill level, since many people don’t have a good understanding yet of this game. So it can be tough sometimes to find players who can commit for a long time.

LITH: What are your goals for the team in the future?

Sun: One of our shorter-term goals is to elevate our players’ skill level, which can be done by first giving them sufficient practice experience, then bringing them into games, no matter what their result. We want to teach them to use football-specific methods to confront challenges, and deal with pressure, as well as learn the specifics of how the game works.





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