Cagliari come back to China

Cagliari Calcio is proud to announce the restart of its relations in China, specifically with Xiapu County in the Fujian region. A deep partnership, which began as early as 2019, spanning football, cultural and economic spheres, now finds new life with additional wide-ranging opportunities.

Cagliari Calcio returned, in fact, to China for a series of meetings in the sports facilities of the school in Xiapu (Fujian), where the inaugural ceremony of the summer football activity program, organized by the Rossoblù Club for the benefit of local young men and women footballers and their instructors, was held last August 15. Present were Partnership Manager Matteo Sechi and Cagliari Football Academy Head Mattia Belfiori. The focus of the two-week camp that will end on August 30, in fact, is the activity of Cagliari’s coaches in China who, working closely with local colleagues on groups of young female and male athletes, are transferring all the best skills to stimulate football and methodological growth.

A now well-established bond, that between Cagliari Calcio and the Government of Xiapu, which looks to the future and guarantees a development capable of going beyond the merely technical and football theme, thus creating a bridge between Sardinia, the Fujian region and Xiapu County with multiple cultural and commercial activities that will animate the partnership in the coming months.

It should be recalled how, after the start of the relationship in 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic had strengthened the bond of friendship between the two communities, which, thanks in part to the work of the “Carlo Enrico Giulini Foundation,” had led to the Chinese city’s donation of more than 150 thousand masks and medical-health products made available to the Ats Sardegna and Cagliari Municipality, and local nonprofit organizations.

For the restart of the Program also came the support of the Consul General of Italy in Canton, Valerio De Parolis, who expressed himself with meaningful words, “A program of training activities that is carried out with dedication, professionalism and ambition by Cagliari Calcio and the city of Xiapu. This is why the Consulate is very attentive to its evolutions and the initiatives that will be developed, guaranteeing constant attention and support.”

Stefano Melis, general manager of Cagliari Calcio: “A new chapter begins in the partnership between Cagliari Calcio and Xiapu County in Fujian. Over the years, our partnership has grown, based on mutual respect and a shared passion for youth soccer development. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Xiapu government and all our local partners, such as Sino-Italy and WTC Pescara, for their continued support. We have never forgotten the extraordinary gesture that the Xiapu community made during the pandemic to support our medical facilities in Sardinia. The dedication we have encountered in Xiapu has allowed us to continue building this valuable bridge between our lands. In recent years, we have made significant progress in our youth programs, and the launch of the Cagliari XPlay Training Camps represents more than just a soccer initiative. It is a symbol of our growing commitment to nurturing young talent, uniting cultures and creating opportunities for the next generation of soccer players at the international level. We look forward to hosting a local government delegation here in Cagliari in the near future to explore the many opportunities of the partnership and grow together.”

Ye Xiaoshun, a member of the Xiapu County Party Standing Committee and Party Group of the County Government, emphasized that “the organization of the camps and all the activities in the project will provide young soccer players with an increasingly nurturing background and a very substantial space for learning and growth, giving the area an international outlook. Initiatives like this, which involve so many stakeholders, ensure cooperation in crucial areas for the purpose of global development.”

XPLAY IN CHINA.
Among the activities at the center of this stage is the new stage of the XPLAY project, led by Marco Marchi and designed for clubs, coaches, and young fans around the world eager to grow and improve. A teaching model that inspires, motivates and educates young participants using soccer as a tool to promote physical well-being and the desire to learn through social aggregation. All this by offering young people opportunities to play and teach following values such as education, respect and fun according to ethical principles, for a complete experience in youth soccer in concert with the structure and coaches of the Cagliari Calcio Youth Sector.