This national football specialty school connects the "big, medium and small" integrated promotion track, campus league, and every class has a team

"We had a friendly match with the Turkmenistan national team at school this year, and this team flag was presented by the Turkmenistan national team." In the football honor room filled with trophies at Xinjiang Kashi No. 6 Middle School, on the long honor roll, they have won 56 national, autonomous region and regional awards in the past 28 years. Among them, as the champion team of the boys and girls middle school group of the "Haigang-SAIC" Cup Xinmin Evening News Summer Middle School Football Tournament, Kashi No. 6 Middle School not only came to Shanghai to play in the "Evening News Cup" last month, but also won the "Dongrun Cup Xinjiang Youth Football Invitational Tournament" championship, adding the latest entry to the honor roll.

Since the school was renamed "Kashgar Experimental Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Normal University", it has become the core school of the "14N" group-run school of Shanghai Aid Xinjiang Education Group. In the past five years, the No. 6 Middle School has moved to a new campus with a construction area of ​​100,000 square meters. Every class has a team and regularly plays in the league. It is "getting better and better" on the road to the development of a national football specialty school. In the new school year, with the strong support of the Autonomous Region Education Department and the Kashgar District Education Bureau, the school recruited 50 first-year football students from all over Xinjiang and 30 first-year football students from the Kashgar region. It has established a tiered campus football team and formed two tiered women's football teams.

[During the league season, the new campus "Magnolia Cup" kicks off]

As the "Public Welfare Ambassador" of the 2024 Evening News Cup Kashgar Division, Cheng Yaodong, the youth training director of Shanghai Harbor Football Club, was present at the finals in Shanghai. Watching the documentary "Kashgar Football Boys" on the screen, Cheng Yaodong's thoughts drifted back to the western border city a month ago, when he flew to the local area to watch the final stage of the Kashgar Division and communicated with the local youth training coaches. "The young players in Xinjiang have strong personalities and fighting spirit. Doing a good job in youth football in Kashgar will be very beneficial to the improvement of the overall level of Chinese football." Cheng Yaodong said frankly.

"Popularization is the foundation, competition is the key, the system is the guarantee, and education is the foundation." The Party Secretary of Kashgar No. 6 Middle School expressed the development ideas of the football-themed school. This boarding school with ethnic minority teachers and students as the main body is headed by Xiao Ming, the leader of Shanghai's "group-style" education aid to Xinjiang talents. There are currently 66 teaching classes and 3,400 students, an increase of 300 students compared to last year. The Jiefang Daily Shangguan News reporter learned that since the targeted education assistance, the school's undergraduate admission rate has increased from 58% to 76% in 2023, and this year it has exceeded 80%.

The new campus, which has an investment of 430 million yuan and covers an area of ​​268 mu, can accommodate 80 classes and 4,000 students. Walking into the new school etiquette gate that replicates the old gate of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the campus is designed in the shape of a "Chinese knot" and is divided into teaching area, sports area and living area according to function. An 11-a-side football field and a 7-a-side football field are planned and built, and an indoor 5-a-side football field will be built in the Art and Sports Center in the future.

Use competitions to train and promote promotion. Every autumn semester, the "Magnolia Cup" football league season of the No. 6 Middle School kicks off. While offering all physical education classes on a daily basis, each class in the school has a football class per week to vigorously promote the popularization of campus football. "Football leads the five educations and uses sports to humanize people" has become a trend. On this basis, the school has established a school team selection system, and each stage of study has gradually built a tiered team that connects class, grade and school-level football teams. Through class leagues, grade challenge competitions, inter-school exchange competitions, and participating in autonomous region and national youth football competitions and hosting competitions, we strive to improve the level of the football team.

The Kashgar Youth Football Training Center was unveiled at Kashgar No. 6 Middle School. Photo by Yu Simin

[Study well and play well, the four-stage youth training system is rolled out]

"When I was in the first year of high school, I was envious of the experiences of male classmates who had returned from Shanghai. I thought that if I had the chance, I would definitely go to Shanghai to feel and experience the football culture." This summer, Buwei Aijer Aimaiti, the captain of the women's football team of Kashgar No. 6 Middle School, finally realized her dream and won the Golden Boot Award in the women's middle school group. She is now in her third year of high school and has set her next life goal in Shanghai. "If possible, I want to go to college in Shanghai."

In May this year, the "National First Sports and Education Integration Western Youth Football Training Base" was established in No. 6 Middle School. To study well and play football well, the school has successively visited Aksu, Korla, Hotan and other places and 12 counties and cities in Kashgar to promote the enrollment policy and tap football seedlings. For football specialty students, 6 professional football coaches teach scientifically, combining cultural course tutoring with special training in art. Among them, cultural courses ensure 6 class hours a day, and use evening self-study to strengthen and consolidate in a targeted manner. The special training adopts the method of "morning physical training, afternoon skill training, and integrated training", with physical training every morning, 2 hours of special training in the afternoon, and special training during winter and summer vacations to strengthen comprehensive practical ability.

Only by connecting the integration of sports and education in "large, medium and small schools" can the talent training channels be unblocked. Driven by the Shanghai Aid Xinjiang Front Command and others, Kashgar Prefecture was listed as one of the eight pilot areas for the construction of a national sports and education integration football youth training system in the western region. The whole region has deployed a number of football specialty schools in accordance with the "121212" model, namely 1 university, 2 high schools, 12 middle schools and 12 primary schools as pilot schools, forming an "integrated" system of primary schools, junior high schools, high schools and universities, and formulating a policy for the recruitment and delivery of football reserve talents that connects the four stages of study, expanding the growth space and promotion channels for football players.

So far, Kashgar has exported a number of national players such as Aifeiding, Mutailipu and Abrahan to the National Olympic Team, and more than 20 football players to major clubs across the country. During the survey, experts evaluated the model of Shanghai's education aid to Xinjiang, which combines high-quality educational resources with football to cultivate football reserve talents, as worthy of replication and promotion across the country.