Beijing ClubFootball Soccer Tour of the UK

16 soccer player aged 12-13 flew from Beijing to London in July 2008 to begin a 9-day Tour before the Beijing Olympics. The players came as part of a huge festival of Chinese culture called CHINA NOW. 

The squad trained with Charlton Athletic FC’s coaches. They had a tournament with local kids at Charlton Athletic’s soccer ground. Lunch at the FA Headquarters in Soho, London was fantastic. The tour of Wembley Stadium was brilliant.

The Chinese players visited Old Trafford, Fratton Park, Celtic Park and Hampden Park.  At these clubs the 12-13 year olds played in local tournaments with British kids, trained with FA Club coaches and met top football (soccer) players.

Children do not play team sports in schools in China. Outside of school children spend most of their time on homework! The CHINA NOW ClubFootball programme helps young Chinese children learn English. It also helps them play soccer and play in team sports in after-school soccer clubs led by top British coaches.

Mandarama met the Chinese players at a coaching session with local children at Charlton Athletic Football Club’s training ground in  
London.   

One of Charlton’s first team stars, Matt Holland dropped by to see the programme.   Mandarama talked to some of the Chinese and British players, their coaches as well as the Managing Director of the ClubFootball Wanguo programme.   We talked about their favourite football (soccer) players. We asked about  differences in training between China and
Britain. We find out all about the BeijingOlympics.

Some of the questions we asked:
When did you start playing soccer? – 4 years old

Favourite UK Player? - David Beckham & Michael Owen

Favourite International Player? - Lionel Messi, Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas & Zheng Zhi (Captain of the China team and also plays for Charlton!)

Favourite Chinese Player? - Zheng Zhi

How much soccer do you play in
China? – 1 hour, 4 times a week 

What British food do you like? – fried fish

Is soccer as popular as other sports in China? – No, though it is growing in popularity. Other sports such as basketball, gymnastics and pingpong (tabletennis) are very popular though it depends which region you are in. 

What other sports do you play?  - swimming, volleyball, basketball. 

How does soccer coaching differ to the
UK?- British coaching is a very different approach.  There tend to be a lot more creativity and interactivity in the coaching sessions. 

Are you looking forward to the Olympics in your hometown Beijing? -  yes, very much so.  We have prepared for the Olympics for a long time now and our proud that the games are taking place in China.  We are looking forward to showing the world our culture and hope that people think the games are spectacular.  We hope that
London have a very successful games in 2012 too.

To hear excerpts of the interviews, click on the sound files below.

Mandarama correspondent, local school boy and devout Charlton fan Matt Gainsford asked the questions with one of Bamboo Learning’s Mandarin tutor’s Frank Wang translating.

Our many thanks go to the Charlton Athletic Community Trust, CHINA NOW and all of the soccer players and coaches who took part.