A girls' football team is practicing dribbles in a primary school in Gujiangbage Township, Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu)

Football has enjoyed rapid development in Xinjiang in recent years, witnessing a change of local people's attitudes toward girls playing football.

by Xinhua writers Su Bin, Zhang Yu, Pan Ying

When she was young, Gulikiz Igarbeydi was haunted by one question: When will female students play football as freely as boys in Xinjiang? During her college days, Gulikiz struggled to find female companions to play with. She would wait for a chance to kick the ball only when her male classmates stopped playing.

Oh, how things have changed.

Now, the 46-year-old Gulikiz is the coach of a girls' football team in a middle school in Bageqi Town, Hotan County. The team has 27 girls, and many more are eager to join.

"When I was a student, my parents always told me that football is for boys, and teachers said football is a highly competitive sport and it's not suitable for girls," Gulikiz said of the stereotype rife in 1990s in Xinjiang.

In Gulikiz's class, there were 77 students, and only seven were girls. Apart from her, no girls played football.

"People around would have a peculiar look at girls who played football, and some neighbors would even point fingers," Gulikiz said.

Out of her pure love for football, Gulikiz became a PE teacher in a middle school in Hotan Prefecture after graduation, although it wasn't plain sailing to carry out her duty.

"In the past, many parents didn't care about their children's education, and it was normal that students cut class. Girls were quite shy of having PE classes with boys, and even dreaded the stretching exercises," Gulikiz said.

Gulikiz believes that in recent years, people in Xinjiang had more opportunities to travel and work in other places. Also through watching TV and surfing the Internet to learn more about the outside world, their vision has been broadened, thus leading to a change in attitude toward their children's education, including girls playing football.

Football's development in Xinjiang over the past few years is also owed in big part to the support from other provinces.

19 other provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu, have paired up with and provided aid for various prefectures and cities in Xinjiang in relevant fields. Since 2020, this aid has amounted to an investment of over 10 billion yuan (1.37 billion U.S. dollars). Moreover, over 14,000 teachers have been selected to improve the quality of education in Xinjiang, many of whom have contributed to local football development.

Girls are practicing on the playground. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu)   

"It feels that dream comes true in just a few years' time," Gulikiz grinned.

According to Gulikiz, almost every school in Hotan Prefecture in southern Xinjiang has set up a girls' football team.

"Girls who participate in the sport account for around 20 percent of the overall number of girls in our school," said Bai Huilin, head of Bageqi Town Middle School.

Data shows that 799 schools have participated in the Hemei Cup, a school football competition organized by the Hotan Prefecture, in the first half of 2023. In the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, over 20 football competitions have been held throughout the year, attracting around 13,000 students from primary and middle schools, among whom girls comprise half.

For these girls, confidence is the biggest treasure they have garnered through playing football.

"When my mother saw my certificate from a football competition, she felt so proud of me and even showed it off to the neighbors," said Munire Adili, a fifth grader at a primary school in Gujiangbage Township, Hotan City.

About half a year ago, Munire became fascinated with the sport when watching a women's football game at school. With her mother's support, she plucked up the courage to apply for a trial and passed several tests before eventually becoming a goalkeeper on her team.

For Munire, the joy of winning games soon gave way to the pain and injuries she sustained in training.

"When the ball hits your face or body, it really hurts," she said.

Encouraged by her coach and teammates, Munire quickly rediscovered her confidence when facing adversities.

"The ball has no mouth, so it cannot eat me," she joked, adding that she hopes to train harder and get the chance to represent her school in competitions, so she can see more of the outside world.

Girls are practicing headers. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu)

Thanks to football, Bumairemu Ali, a ninth grader in Bageqi Town Middle School, had the opportunity to travel to several other places in Xinjiang.

"I made some friends of different ethnic groups when playing football matches in other places. We often exchange ideas online about football skills and our studies," Bumairemu said.

With its primary source of students from local herdsman families, Bageqi Town Middle School covers all expenses, including kits, shoes, transportation, and accommodation, for students to participate in tournaments.

With her senior middle school life just around the corner, Bumairemu is upbeat about her future.

"I have many choices in the future, but football is what I will persist on," she said.

Standing pitchside, with a dozen teenage girls chasing a ball on the training field, Gulikiz looked relieved and delighted.

"Gone are the days that girls were called by their parents to do farmwork when they were taking classes, or they were mocked when they were playing football," she said.