The 43rd "Baidui Cup" Football Tournament, a cornerstone of youth sports in Beijing, has wrapped up with unprecedented participation. This year, the event attracted 1,481 teams and more than 20,000 young players, marking a record high in recent years. Since its inception in 1984, the tournament has been one of China's longest-running youth amateur football competitions, and it remains the only national youth football event to have been held continuously without interruption.
In a significant structural change, the tournament introduced a "two-track" system, dividing participants into Popularization and Competitive Groups. The Popularization Group, open to all young enthusiasts, emphasizes joyful participation and free team formation. It spans 14 age categories from 6-year-olds to high school students. Notably, in the 6-year-old category, no rankings are recorded, and every participant receives an award, aiming to foster a love for the sport and broaden the grassroots base. The Competitive Group, designed for professional club youth academies, sports schools, and school representative teams, covers 10 age categories from 8 to 17. This track provides high-level competition to refine the selection mechanism for reserve talent.
A representative from the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau highlighted that the two-track system signifies the Baidui Cup's evolution from a standalone amateur event into a comprehensive youth tournament framework that equally values participation and excellence. This model offers a valuable reference for improving youth football competition structures.
The tournament also featured notable figures from the football world. Fu Ming, an international referee who officiated at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, took charge of Competitive Group matches and encouraged young players to "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, urging the children to compete with courage.
For many, the Baidui Cup is more than just a tournament. As one post-80s football enthusiast who participated as a child and now coaches a team put it, "The Baidui Cup is Beijing's very own 'World Cup' for its children." The event has become a cherished summer memory for generations of Beijing residents and a cultural cornerstone of the city's sports identity.
