A winning pitch for girls' soccer

Hebei school secures two national titles and figures out how to attract young women to the sport

Coach Wang Zhanjiang had to hold back tears when her team from Hebei province won the final of the 2019 girl's national high school soccer championship in October.

The 2-0 victory over Nanya Middle School in Changsha, Hunan province, means the teenage players would represent China at a world-level game, the International School Sport Federation's World School Championship in soccer, though the game has not yet been scheduled.

"I can't believe we won another championship. It's like winning the lottery," said Wang, who has been a coach for almost 10 years.

The team, representing Hebei Baoding No 1 High School, won its first national championship in November last year. The China High School Football Championship is the country's most prestigious soccer event for schools, and gave Baoding the chance to represent China at the ISF's 2019 championship in Belgrade, Serbia, in April.

They finished fifth among 16 competitors, a result Wang was happy with. Before last year, the soccer teams at the school, which was founded 37 years ago, had never won a national championship.

"Going abroad was already unbelievable, not to mention the fact that we made it into the top eight teams," Wang said.