Lijiang football team celebrates championship

The Sport Lottery Cup Amateur Football League Final concluded in Wenshan, Yunnan province, on Dec 7. The team from the Old Town of Lijiang celebrated their victory against 12 other participating teams.

The 31-player Lijiang team began month-long acclimatization training on Nov 11. The players arrived in Wenshan for formal training on Nov 27 before the competition began.

Lijiang defeated Pu'er 4-1 and Kaiyuan 3-0 in the elimination phase and semifinals before marching into the finals.

The final match was played against Kunming Ruilong, a strong amateur team from Yunnan.

Lijiang trainers utilized their athletes' speed to disarm the competitor's defensive line.

Lijiang defeated Kunming Ruilong 2-0 and won the Champion Cup.

Edited by Li Yang and Michael Thai