Yunnan girl aims to be best Chinese football player

Located at the foot of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in northwest Yunnan’s Lijiang, the Baisha Town Primary School has a football team which keeps daily training since 2011. And nine-year-old girl He Yongling is one of the 90 team members.

Inspired by her grandpa who used to be a striker, Yongling has developed her own football dream—to become a member of China’s national women’s football team. When she was three to four years old, her grandpa often took her to a football field to watch others play. And Yongling gradually gained interest in football and started to learn how to play.

People in Baisha Town have a fondness of playing football, for adults and children alike. Growing up in a town with high elevation, teenage football players from Baisha have good endurance and are popular with football teams. And Yongling is no exception. Because of her excellent performance, she was selected into Shaanxi Provincial Youth Football Team for a one-year trial. On March 1, she set off for Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi.
Yongling said football is not only her hobby, but also her dream. She wishes to become the best football player in the country.