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The Guardian - AU

World

Alastair McCready in Taipei

Plenty of players but no grassroots: can China ever grow into a footballing giant?

Football China Mark Dreyer Michael Owen May Guizhou Beijing Guoan CSL

Lines of pupils in red and white uniforms do football exercises — Guizhou’s amateur tournament became an unexpected viral hit, inspiring similar leagues throughout China. Pupils perform football exercises in Huai'an, Jiangsu, China. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

Michael Owen, a man who once quipped he had never drunk tea or coffee, isn’t known for his adventurous palate. Safe to assume, then, that the former England striker was out of his comfort zone sipping Roxburgh rose juice and eating chilli-wrapped rice noodle rolls during his recent visit to south-west China’s Guizhou province.

The 2001 Ballon d’Or winner dusted off his boots for a match in Rongjiang county, the birthplace of viral amateur football league Cun Chao, also known as the Village Super League. Scoring twice in a 4-3 loss for local side Rongjiang Niubi, Owen endeared himself to the thousands in attendance, even if some weren’t familiar with the former Liverpool and Real Madrid player.

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