Football sparks hope of better life in developing city

Qiao Erhao, a member of the football team of his primary school, left a football with some of his friends so they could have fun together after school.

"But they lost the ball the other day, and they have no more fun," said the sixth-grade student from Baoji City in northwest China's Shaanxi province.

Their dream of football and beyond was ignited by a charity program jointly funded by Hangzhou-based car maker Geely and Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games organizing committee. 15 schools from Baoji City received sport equipment donations, and the young players received professional coaching.

Liu Cheng, former China's Series A League player and ambassador of the Hangzhou Asian Games charity program, joined the warm-up session before the final game between Baoji youth football league on Thursday. The young players were also shown around the Geely Baoji site after the game.