Tibetans take field for 'New Year Cup'

In the small village of Mali in Lhorong county in Chamdo city, Xizang autonomous region, the 7th annual "New Year Cup" soccer tournament was staged last month on a makeshift pitch about 3,700 meters above sea level.

"Though it's still dusty, it's a lot better than before," said Karma Chophel, a Mali villager.

A decade ago, the soccer field was nothing but a desolate field strewn with rocks. Back then, Karma Chophel, who was a high school student, took it upon himself to organize local children who loved playing soccer to level the ground and set up makeshift goalposts with wooden sticks, laying the foundation for what would become the village's soccer field.

Karma Chophel, who graduated from Xizang Minzu University with a sports degree, is now a physical education teacher at the local primary school. With an increasing number of children showing interest in soccer and parents hoping for a proper playing field, Karma Chophel, now a father himself, led the effort to renovate the field and organize soccer matches.

Fundraising, purchasing building materials, leveling the field, repairing facilities — under the leadership of Karma Chophel and other fathers in the village, nearly every member of the community joined hands to develop the pitch.

This year's tournament took place on the renovated field, attracting 12 teams from the surrounding areas and turning a rural soccer event into the "World Cup" of this eastern Tibetan village. Residents enjoyed butter tea and dried meat as they sat on the ground and watched the games to celebrate the coming of the Tibetan New Year, which will begin on Saturday and end on Monday.

At present, all 74 counties in Xizang have their own soccer pitches, and the construction of standard soccer fields is expanding to grassroots towns and villages. Lhorong county alone boasts six soccer fields, with plans to build three more.