On August 26th, a team of 12 outstanding youth teams from China and Spain, as well as over 400 players, coaches, and referees, gathered at the Hongta Sports Center in Kunming to witness the opening of the LA LIGA Hope Cup, a top international youth football tournament.
This tournament is the LA LIGA Youth Championship that has been held continuously since the establishment of the LA LIGA League. It has a history of nearly 40 years and has over 10000 young players participating. The global attention has reached 100 million people, and it has become one of the most important U12-U16 age group youth football championships in the world. In 2019, this event made its debut in mainland Asia from Spain and settled in Kunming, China.
The second LA LIGA Hope Cup (Kunming) is hosted by the Yunnan Provincial Sports Bureau and the Kunming Municipal People’s Government with the support and guidance of the Spanish Professional Football League. It is hosted by the Kunming Municipal Education and Sports Bureau, Kunming Cultural and Tourism Bureau, and China Sports Future Investment (Beijing) Co., Ltd. The Kunming Dianchi National Resort Management Committee, Xishan District People’s Government, Anning Municipal People’s Government, Kunming Sports Federation, and Kunming Football Association A large-scale youth football event co hosted by Kunming Sports School, Yunnan Hongta Sports Center, and Century Jinyuan Honorary.
At the opening ceremony, Liu Junzhu, Deputy Director and First Level Inspector of the General Office of the State Administration of Sport, Liu Jiachen, Deputy Secretary of the Kunming Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, Eduardo Carrasco, Political Counselor of the Spanish Embassy in China, Xu Xiaomei, Member of the Standing Committee of the Kunming Municipal Committee and Minister of Propaganda Department, Yang Weiling, Vice Mayor of Kunming Municipal People’s Government，Sergi Torrents, LA LIGA Greater China Managing Director, Director of Kunming Education and Sports Bureau Mu Renzao，Director of Kunming Culture and Tourism BureauYa，Yang Mingjun，Vice Secretary of Anning Municipal Committee and mayor PuTai， and Wang Jianguang, Chairman of China Sports Futurity Investment, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. At the opening ceremony, Liu Junzhu, Vice Director of the General Office of the State General Administration of Sports, A level inspector, announced the official opening of the second LA LIGA Hope Cup (Kunming).And Sergi Torrents, Executive Director of LA LIGA League Greater China, passed on the LA LIGA Hope Cup Special Commemorative Cup to Mu Renzao, Director of Kunming Education and Sports Bureau.
Eduardo Carrasco, Political Counsellor at the Embassy of Spain in China, Eduardo Carrasco, stated that This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain. As one of the important series of activities for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain, the LA LIGA Hope Cup will more effectively implement the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries in sports and cultural fields. It is believed that the holding of the LA LIGA Hope Cup will enable Chinese fans to better understand La Liga, Spanish football, and even Spanish culture through these events. Football, a global sport, can also better promote exchanges in sports culture between the two countries and help promote the development of youth football.
Yang Weiling, Vice Mayor of Kunming Municipal People’s Government, stated in her speech that Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province, the central city of the Yunnan Central Urban Agglomeration, the world-renowned “Spring City Flower Capital”, and an ideal destination for plateau sports training. In recent years, Kunming City has continuously met the multi-level and diversified needs of the people for fitness and health and leisure through measures such as creating an event economy, building a sports town, promoting leisure sports, and promoting international exchanges. It has successfully held multiple international and domestic large-scale events, and built a group of plateau training bases such as Kunming Haigeng Sports Training Base, Songmao Sports Training Base, and Jiaozi Snow Mountain International Ski Resort, Attracting numerous sports elites from around the world to gather in Kunming.
The LA LIGA Hope Cup is the highest level youth competition in Spain, with a deep foundation in the field of football youth training and a global reputation. This year, marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain, the successful hosting of the competition will further promote the development of football and sports in Kunming, promote in-depth exchanges between Chinese and Western cultural and sports, and take this opportunity to actively promote professional football cultural education for young people, accelerate the development of sports, and expand the achievements of national fitness.
In December 2018, the Kunming Municipal People’s Government signed strategic cooperation memorandums with the LA LIGA League and China Sports Future, signing strategic cooperation memorandums on specific projects such as “Kunming International Sports Health Valley and LA LIGA International Football School” and “LA LIGA Hope Cup”.
Wang Jianguang, Chairman of China Sports Futurity Investment, stated: Wang Jianguang, Chairman of China Sports Future, stated: In 2018, with the support of the Yunnan Provincial Government, the Kunming Municipal Government, LA LIGA League, and China Sports Association reached a strategic consensus on building projects such as the LA LIGA Kunming International Football School and the LA LIGA Hope Cup. The first LA LIGA Hope Cup was successfully held in 2019, with tens of millions of viewers. The LA LIGA Hope Cup is currently the only full schedule, full session, and live broadcast youth international event in China. It is not only for Chinese and Western youth, but also for Chinese and Western youth The youth have built a competitive stage on the green field and also built a friendship station for cultural exchanges between the youth of China and Spain outside the green field. Especially this year, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain, this event has been included as an important cultural exchange activity for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain. Just like the power of our fútbol in La Liga, LA LIGA hopes that the successful hosting of the Cup in Kunming will also become the most beautiful promotional slogan for the event in the summer of 2023. There is a football spirit called inheritance. There is a football attitude in Kunming.
Sergi Torrents, Executive Director of LA LIGA Greater China, said, “This is an important event that has received support from the governments of China and Spain, and also demonstrates the good cooperative relationship between LA LIGA and its Chinese partners. The LA LIGA Hope Cup is part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Spain, and the football exchanges between the two countries perfectly reflect the values and firm friendship of both sides.
Young players from both countries will fully immerse themselves in and engage in intense competition for the championship of the second LA LIGA Hope Cup, while further deepening the relationship between China and the West through competition and exchange. At the opening ceremony, David Barroso, a player from Cadiz Football Club, took an oath on behalf of all the participating players of LA LIGA Club, promising to abide by the rules and actively promote sportsmanship during the game. After the opening ceremony, the opening match of this tournament will begin between Cadiz and Hubei Xinghui Football Club. In the end, both parties shook hands and made peace with a score of 1-1. The 12 teams will play a total of 26 games in 5 days, and the final will start on time on the morning of August 30th. This competition will be live streamed on more than ten platforms including Xinhua News Agency’s official Weibo account and Bilibili account, including Cloud, Youku, iQiyi, Baidu, Q Sports and LA LIGA League.
This year’s tournament once again brought together numerous future football stars with unlimited potential, further consolidating the position of the LA LIGA Hope Cup as a leading international competition in the youth football field of Spain and China. The holding of the LA LIGA Hope Cup will build a new platform for communication and exchange between domestic and international high-level youth football, promote the development and exchange of youth football between China, Spain, and China Europe, and further contribute to the vigorous development of youth football in Yunnan Province and even the whole country.
As the exclusive operator of the event, Guo Xiaowei, General Manager of China Sports Future, stated in an interview that China Sports Future has always been committed to introducing and establishing top international youth sports events. The LA LIGA Hope Cup has built an international platform for Chinese teenagers to showcase themselves and communicate openly with teenagers around the world. This provides an opportunity for domestic teams to communicate closely with the youth training echelons of top European clubs, allowing players from different cultures to gather here, share common sports values, and create a future in the spirit of football.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain. As the only sports and cultural exchange project, the LA LIGA Hope Cup has been included in the important series of activities for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain. The holding of this event will further deepen the sports and cultural exchange and cooperation between China and Spain, strengthen the “Belt and Road” initiative, and serve as a window for industrial cooperation and cultural exchanges between China and Europe. It is also a further implementation of the 2020 Strategic Plan for China Europe Cooperation, Promote deep level cooperation between the two sides in sports, culture, health and other fields, and provide assistance for building a community with a shared future for mankind.
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