The second Kashgar Cup, an international youth football tournament which kicked off Tuesday in Kashgar Prefecture of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has been in full swing among 12 teams from seven countries.
The young footballers, from China, Russia, and five Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, are set to compete in 26 matches during the week-long sporting event.
Compared with the first edition, the tournament this year has been fully updated, with four more teams participating.
This event has become an important platform for exchanges between teenagers from China and the Central Asian countries.
"It's great to have the opportunity to learn from foreign football teams on the pitch in my hometown. I hope that through such competitions, I can learn more skills. I look forward to more opportunities for exchanges like this in the future so that more foreign friends can experience our hometown through football," said Yusup Mametsal, a Chinese participant.
"At first, we did not expect such a good start. It's a well-organized and high-level tournament held in a serious manner. I think there are still powerful rivals, and we are ready to face them off," said Akpar Ushur, a participant from Tajikistan.
"As for the organization of the tournament, we really like everything here. The opening of the tournament was great, and everything was well organized. I hope that all such tournaments can always maintain a high level, with excellent teams taking part," said Alexey Evstafeev, head coach of Uzbekistan's national youth football team.
'Kashgar Cup' int'l youth football tournament in full swing in Xinjiang
'Kashgar Cup' int'l youth football tournament in full swing in Xinjiang
