On November 22, the 6th "Haihua Cup" Guitai Youth Football Online Friendship Match, jointly organized by Guangxi Beihai Football Association and Taiwan Hualien County Football Association, was held simultaneously in the Beihai Football Youth Training Base and Hualien County Beipu

match scene (Picture source: Beihai City Taiwan Affairs Office)

China Taiwan Network reported on November 25 that the 2022 World Cup was in full swing on Qatar , a special "online" football match attracted the attention of both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

htmlOn November 22, the 6th "Haihua Cup" Guitai ( Beihai ) Youth Football Online Friendship Match, jointly organized by Guangxi Beihai Football Association and Hualien County Football Association, was held simultaneously in the Beihai Football Youth Training Base and Hualien County Beipu Primary School in an online form.

In this competition, Beihai and Hualien each have 10 U12 players participating. There are three events: fixed-point passes, limited-time balls and timed round-rod shots, which are divided into individual matches and team matches. Players from both sides compete at the same time, observing each other's technical performance online, and determining the championship, runner-up and third place in each project based on the results of both sides. Before the game, the young players of both sides shot videos to demonstrate the competition projects and rules, and introduced themselves, sharing their interests and hobbies, impressive game scenes, favorite well-known stars, etc. Everyone expressed their expectations for this online event, bringing each other closer.

After intense competition, the team composed of Beihai players won the team championship. The players in Beihai and Hualien tied for the first place in the individual match to be the first place in the designated pass event, and the first place in the limited-time ball-over event was won by Beihai players. After the game, the young players on both sides waved their hands enthusiastically in front of the camera, reluctant to part with them, hoping to meet offline in the future and compete in the same game.

According to Chen Xiaolin, vice chairman of Beihai Football Association, Beihai and Hualien have always had close mutual visits and exchanges. From 2015 to 2019, five consecutive "Haihua Cup" Youth Football Friendship Matches were held. The young football players crossed the strait, made friends with the ball, and exchanged football skills on the green field, enhancing understanding, learning and progressing together, and forging deep friendships. With the joint efforts of the Beihai Football Association and the Hualien Football Association, the 6th "Haihua Cup" Football Friendly Match started online. It is hoped that the competition can build a new platform for friendly exchanges among young people in Guizhou and Taiwan, and promote the spiritual harmony and integrated development of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Chen Yixiong, chairman of the Taiwan Student Football League, said that holding football events online is a new attempt, and the young players are very novel and looking forward to it. Although the epidemic has temporarily affected the offline visits between the two sides, it has not blocked each other's longing and blessings. I hope that more schools and teams will be mobilized to participate in the future, and the "Haihua Cup" will be better and better, and jointly promote friendly exchanges between cross-strait football sports. (China Taiwan Network Guangxi Beihai Taiwan Affairs Office correspondent Lan Yu)