On April 9, Zhao Ziqi and Nong Chunyan from Yunnan embarked on a journey to Turkey as members of the Chinese women's football U-15 selection team, where they will participate in the UEFA U-16 Women's Football International Invitational Tournament, which is also the first time for the two Yunnan girls to go abroad and represent the country in international sports events.
From March 14th to April 8th, the 2024 National 2009 "Olympic Star" Women's Football Training Camp was completed at the Suzhou Taihu Football Sports Center. In the early stage of the training camp, three Yunnan athletes, Zhao Ziqi, Nong Chunyan and Yaqin, were selected for the training camp, and together with more than 80 outstanding women's football players from 21 provinces and cities across the country, they completed tests, group training and competitions under the leadership of the coaching team. After the elimination and selection, Zhao Ziqi and Nong Chunyan were successfully selected into the U15 selection team of the Chinese women's football team with their good spirit and competitive level.
The reason why Zhao Ziqi and Nong Chunyan were able to become the leaders of this age group through layers of selection is inseparable from the "training, training, competition, selection and sending" youth training system of the Yunnan Football Association. In recent years, Yunnan Province has successively promulgated policies and measures such as the Implementation Plan for the Reform and Development of Football in Yunnan Province and the Medium and Long-term Development Plan for Football in Yunnan Province (2016-2050), which have provided a strong guarantee for the long-term development of football in Yunnan. Since 2021, Yunnan Province has formulated and promoted a systematic youth training system integrating "coach training", "youth training", "youth league building", "talent selection" and "step-by-step transportation", which combines the current situation of football youth training in Yunnan, follows the teaching rules, and learns from the experience of South Korean youth training in terms of training materials and training methods. At the same time, through the creation of the event, Yunnan Province has unblocked the talent selection channels of various states, cities and football clubs, and laid a solid talent base for the formation of provincial football teams.
It is on this basis that the Yunnan Football Association officially established the 09-age women's football echelon of the Yunnan Football Association in Qujing City in August 2022 through the tripartite cooperation with the Qujing Municipal Education and Sports Bureau and Yunnan Yibu Sports Development Co., Ltd. Zhao Ziqi, Nong Chunyan, and Yaqin are all members of the 09 age group women's football echelon, Zhao Ziqi is from Baoshan Junior Sports School, which is a model of talent transfer in the state and city, and Nong Chunyan is from Guangnan County, Wenshan Prefecture, and was recruited by Kunming Junyi Club, a city-level youth training center of Yunnan Football Association, and later recommended to the provincial team. Due to the improvement of the youth training level in various states and cities, Zhao Ziqi and Nong Chunyan have solid basic skills, outstanding physical fitness, and can quickly grow into women's football talents who meet the national selection standards under the careful cultivation of the provincial team.
Zhao Ziqi and Nong Chunyan are successful examples of the cultivation of Yunnan's youth training system, and their selection has injected a boost into Yunnan football. In order to prepare for the 2025 National Games, the Yunnan Provincial Football Association has focused on the construction of four national sports preparation teams for the men's football team in the 2005 and 2007 age groups and the men's and women's football teams in the 2009 age group through the introduction of professional talents and resource integration. It can be said that after nearly three years of accumulation, the Yunnan football youth training system has achieved initial results, and the Yunnan Football Association will continue to uphold the original intention of "engaging in youth training in a down-to-earth manner", continue to cultivate outstanding talents for Chinese football, and let more young seedlings go to a broader future through smooth talent selection channels.
Source: Cloud News (Reporter Lou Ying, picture provided by Yunnan Football Association)
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