Thirty-two village squads learned their paths to the championship when organizers held the official draw ceremony for the fourth Guangzhou Thousand Villages Football Tournament on November 3 at the Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank Building.

The regional sports showcase, often called the villagers’ own World Cup by local residents, completed regional preliminary rounds that began in August across 11 municipal divisions. Across its first three editions since the inaugural 2016 tournament, the grassroots competition drew over 10,000 player appearances across more than 800 matches, attracting cumulative online and offline audiences at the million level.

Financial Backing and Municipal Support

Executives from municipal sports authorities and banking partners addressed the gathering to emphasize the tournament’s role in local cultural development. Fan Qian, general manager of the agriculture and rural real estate business department at Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, stated that mass athletic competitions help build community spirit and support rural revitalization initiatives.

Liu Xingwei, party branch secretary and secretary-general of the Guangzhou Football Association, reviewed the ten-year evolution of the event. Liu noted that the association intends to use grassroots football as a vehicle to animate rural cultural life across the region.

Former National Goalkeeper Joins as Ambassador

Organizers appointed former national team goalkeeper Ou Chuliang as the official image ambassador for the tournament. Ou appeared at the launch event following his extensive career representing China, which included playing in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and subsequently coaching within the national setup and youth development programs.

Speaking to attendees, Ou highlighted the social impact of the competition. He remarked that the tournament strengthens public fitness initiatives while giving village teams a platform to showcase competitive spirit and sportsmanship.

Thirty-Two Village Teams Sign Commitments

Representatives from all 32 qualified village teams took the stage in four batches to sign fair play commitments and accept their official team banners. Following the ceremonial launch, the draw divided the finalists into groups for the next stage of competition.

The tournament structure combines a round-robin group phase with single-elimination rounds. Teams will compete in single round-robin matches within their respective groups, with the top two squads from each group advancing to the knockout bracket in the race for the overall championship.