Famed German soccer club starts Chinese youth league

According to Zhang Yunqing, vice-director of the Sino-German Ecopark administrative committee, the school has eight high-standard fields with state-of-the-art facilities for indoor and outdoor training, as well as accommodation and catering.

"It helps develop soccer at school and sets different training goals and corresponding courses for coaches and adolescents, creating a 'Bayern model' for Chinese soccer," Zhang said.

Since its establishment, the school has hosted coaches from FC Bayern and has launched a host of youth programs.

It has also organized high-profile events, including the finals of the FC Bayern Youth Cup China and the Adidas Youth Cup.

"The school plays a big part in Sino-German sports exchange," Zhang said, adding that it plans to organize more games, international summer camps and other exchange activities to give young players ample opportunities to grow and hone their skills.

Seven-year-old Li Hanzhao was among the 20 selected. He said that he is excited to join the U8 team and didn't think he would be selected.

"My peers at the Bayern school are very talented, and it is more difficult to win here than at my primary school," said Li, who started playing the sport in kindergarten.

He intends to work hard at training and hopes that one day, he will play for Munich, just like his goalkeeper idol, Liu Shaoziyang.

xiechuanjiao@chinadaily.com.cn