The 3rd Guangzhou Thousands of Villages Football Haizhu Cup kicked off at the No 10 Sports Park in Haizhu district on Nov 9. The event was organized by the Haizhu Football Association. Representatives from various units in Haizhu district and 16 village teams attended the opening ceremony.

The first Thousand Villages Football Cup was held in 2016 and proved highly popular among villagers, making it one of the most well-received sporting events in rural Guangzhou.

Players battle for victory on the field. [Photo/WeChat account: gzhzfb]

The aim of the new Thousands of Villages Football Cup is to further deepen the connection between villages in Haizhu district through football, promote the vitalization of rural culture, implement the "High-quality development project for hundreds of counties, thousands of towns, and ten thousand villages", and promote integrated urban-rural development.

A representative from Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank Haizhu Branch gives a speech. [Photo/WeChat account: gzhzfb]

A representative from Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank Haizhu Branch, the sponsor of the event, stated in a speech that the bank has always been committed to serving agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises, and local economic development. By launching policies to support agriculture and rural development and responding to the diverse financial needs of rural areas, the bank hopes to showcase the spirit of the new rural area through such sporting events.

Next, the 16 administrative villages in Haizhu district will compete in group matches followed by knockout matches to select the teams to that will compete in the city finals.