Sports

As the world’s most popular ball game, soccer is not just an entertaining activity. It has many other benefits, among them building a stronger body and encouraging the development of character, self-confidence, team spirit, and willpower. Americans, especially families with children, are increasingly turning to the sport. Soccer is now the number one sport among the youth in the States.

As part of its mission to promote cultural and sports exchange between China and the United States, the Asian-American Affairs Association was the chief sponsor of the “Youth Soccer Invitation Tournament” held in Dalian, China July 26th to August 4th, 2014 from cooperation with the Dalian City Football Association.

Not only is soccer popular in China, but its origins as Cuju (kicking a ball) go back to references by the Han historian Sima Qian (145-87 BC) who listed the game as one of the entertainments along with music and great feasts in Shandong.

In Dalian, the sport is played with such enthusiasm that the northern coastal city has been dubbed “China’s Soccer City.” During 1980s, more than 70% of China’s national team players came from Dalian.

In 2016, the American participants of the Dalian Youth Soccer Invitational came from Escondido in San Diego, California. Many of the area’s children begin playing soccer from as young as four. (Noteworthy is that many of these young soccer players are Hispanic as they comprise 70% population of the area’s population. FC Heat, one of California’s top youth soccer clubs, competed with 6 top soccer teams in China. The young people make friends with one another. Needless to say, for American teenagers, the opportunity to travel to China and play soccer with youngsters from a different culture becomes a cherished memory.