Grassroots football fever spreads across China

The Jiangsu Football City League phenomenon has ignited a nationwide wave of popular grassroots football leagues this summer, and rekindled supporters’ passion for the sport.

Dubbed the “Jiangsu Super League” or “Suchao”, the amateur provincial league has been a sensation — both online and in stadiums — loved for its huge crowds, exciting play, lively fan exchanges and viral memes.

Now football leagues in Jiangxi, Guangdong, and other provinces are also vying for the national spotlight by focusing on fierce inter-city rivalries, innovative formats, or rebranding existing competitions.

During the fourth round of the 2025 Jiangxi City Football Super League on 2 August and 3 August, more than 70,000 spectators packed stadiums across Yingtan, Shangrao and Xinyu, with stands echoing with the roars of proud supporters.

The marquee match on 2 August, when Yingtan hosted Jiujiang, drew 19,108 spectators.

Over 1,100 Jiujiang fans travelled on Jiangxi’s first football-dedicated high-speed train scheduled for the game.

“It was timely aid,” said Huang Ruilu, vice-chairman of the Jiangxi Football Association. “Originally we planned to organise fan buses to Yingtan, but a one-way trip takes four hours. With matches ending around 10 pm, same-day return was nearly impossible. The special train arrived like coal in a snowstorm,” he said.

Meanwhile, cities nationwide are also following the Suchao model.

Harbin, Heilongjiang province, launched its seven-a-side “Hachao” tournament on 12 July, which features 32 teams in youth, adult, and senior divisions.

In Weifang, Shandong province, the “Victory Football Super Cup”, dubbed “V Chao”, ignited citywide passion with its core philosophy: “For every citizen, fight for our hometown”.

“This tops watching the Chinese Super League!” exclaimed fan Zhang Lei. “These players are our neighbours — delivery guys, teachers, factory workers … Seeing them pour their hearts out for our hometown is electrifying!”

The latest provincial league to launch is the 2025 Guangdong Football Super League which started on 9 August and runs for four months.

The competition has taken a different approach by calling itself the “Shengchao”, or Provincial Super League and undertaking a qualification and knockout format. It was organised by the Guangdong Football Association with municipal sports bureaus and local football associations as co-organisers.

Unlike the city-based format in Jiangsu, the new Guangdong league features amateur clubs.

“Registration enthusiasm was extraordinary this year. By late June, we had 26 teams applying — 18 more than last year,” said Liang Junjie, head of the association’s commercial development department.

After rigorous vetting, 22 teams from 13 of Guangdong’s 21 prefecture-level cities were selected. From 9 August to 17 August, matches will be played in two venues in Meizhou and Zhaoqing, to select 11 teams who did not participate in the provincial league last year.

Those 11 teams, and five teams who participated in last year’s competition, will play each other from 23 August to 27 September to decide the top four.

The semifinalists will play home-and-away games from 2 November to 29 November, to determine the winner and have the chance to represent the province in the 2026 Chinese Football Association Member Association Champions League, the highest-level national amateur football competition. Nearly 70 matches will be played to determine the finalists.

“Previously, all matches used home-and-away formats, burdening teams with high venue rental, security, and travel costs,” said Liang. “This year, only the semifinalists play home-and-away fixtures, drastically reducing expenses.”

“The popularity of the Suchao is a remarkable development in China’s grassroots sports scene,” said Michal Dahl, an associate professor from Alberta International School of Recreation, Sport and Tourism of Beijing Sport University.

“It has rightly gained attention not only across the country but internationally as well,” he said.

The total number of spectators for the first eight rounds of Suchao exceeded 1 million. At Nanjing’s sixth-round home game, the crowd reached 60,396, a new attendance record for an amateur soccer match in China.

Dahl said leagues such as the Suchao offer a refreshing model grounded in community spirit and shared joy.

“Its success speaks to a growing appetite for community-based, inclusive sports experiences that go beyond elite performance and commercial spectacle,” he said.