Youth soccer tournament kicks off

The organizers said teams from 18 countries were invited to join the tournament, with 12 showing initial willingness to participate and seven countries that finally confirmed their attendance.

The organizers revealed that they expected to have three foreign teams and three domestic teams participate in the 2015 tournament at the very beginning and the foreign teams' responses went "far beyond expectations".

"It shows that the event is very attractive to those foreign soccer teams," said Ding Li, director of the sports and arts department for SMEC.

"Those teams are top soccer teams in their countries and some are managed by the professional soccer clubs. Some soccer players will be shining soccer stars in the future," Ding said.

To train more qualified youth soccer referees, some university students will join the referee teams for the tournament. Ding said all the student referees have experience and related qualifications.

"It is a feature of the youth soccer game and will demonstrate Shanghai's achievement in youth soccer development," Ding said.

Organizers said the main purpose of the event is not purely to crown a champion.

"It is not only a platform for global youths to demonstrate their soccer skills but also to help them have a better understanding of Chinese culture. It will help to strengthen communication and interaction between Chinese youths and their foreign friends," Ding said.

During the tournament period, the foreign soccer players and coaches will have chances to visit local schools and tourist destinations in Shanghai to learn more about China.

They will visit the Shanghai Museum and Yuyuan Garden and watch a circus performance.

On the opening day of the tournament, a youth soccer development forum will also start. The forum participants include the first foreign coach to manage the Chinese national soccer team, Klaus Schlappner, and renowned Chinese soccer coach Xu Genbao.

The sports professionals will hold discussions about future development tendencies of China's youth soccer and offer possible growth plans.

The organizers plan to develop the tournament into an annual event with global influence in the next three to five years.

"Through this platform, we hope we can learn from foreign leading soccer teams and cultivate a soccer culture to promote this sports game in Shanghai and China," Ding said.