Football fever is set to return in eastern China's Jiangsu Province this weekend as the Jiangsu Football City League, or "Suchao", kicks off its new season.
Changzhou will face Nantong in Saturday's opener, launching a 78‑match regular season that will run from April 11 to September 19, with all games set for Saturday evenings across 13 cities.
Suzhou head coach Chan Yuen Ting said the squad is combining intensive daily training with technology to sharpen performance.
"The players are having intensive trainings every day. To ensure the improvement of their athletic performance, we are also using high-tech tools and data analysis to assist the training," said Chan.
Chan explained that each Suzhou player now trains in a vest fitted with a monitoring system that tracks running distance and sprint speed in real time, giving coaches a sharper picture of fitness levels. The squad list for this season includes 50 names, more than 30 of them under 22, a youth wave balanced by a handful of seasoned veterans
For 34‑year‑old defender Chen Wei, one of Suzhou's most experienced players since the inaugural 2025 season, building on‑field chemistry with younger teammates has become the focus of his training.
"My training partners are defenders, mainly from the U22 group. During regular matches and trainings, I would share some detailed experience with them. We are now becoming more and more coordinated," Chen said.
Officials said this year's Suchao season has drawn more younger players than 2025, with rising numbers of U22 players filling provincial rosters.
"The registration across the province was basically at full capacity. The final valid number of registered participants reached 647, with an average player age of 22.32 years, a decrease of 1.77 years compared to 2025," said Liu Tong, deputy director of Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau.
Suchao became a national sensation in 2025 with its mix of local pride and derby drama. Stadium crowds topped 2.43 million for the season, averaging more than 28,000 per game, while online viewership soared past 2.2 billion streams.
Football fever returns as China’s Jiangsu Super League kicks off new season
Football fever returns as China’s Jiangsu Super League kicks off new season
A member of the Political Bureau of Ansar Allah (the Houthi military group) on Thursday warned of an escalation in conflicts in the Middle East as Israel continued to carry out deadly strikes in Lebanon.
Talking to China Global Television Network (CGTN), Houthi political bureau member Ali Al-Dailami emphasized the group's support for other members of the Iran-led "Axis of Resistance," a regional coalition committed to countering Israel and includes militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.
"Coordination within the 'Axis of Resistance' is ongoing, especially since we are talking about American and Zionist hegemony, and this axis is based on resisting imperialism and resisting the Zionist occupation, so it continues. This coordination has already appeared in many moves, most recently what was announced by the military spokesperson Yahya Saree regarding joint operations between Iran, Hezbollah, and Yemen," said Al-Dailami.
"We are with the Islamic Republic of Iran, we are with the resistance, we are with Lebanon, we are with Palestine. This is a principled stance we cannot waver from, and it is also considered a red line. And this red line -- whoever tries to cross it, we will certainly confirm the other direction, which is the direction of the resistance: with Lebanon, with Palestine, with the Islamic Republic of Iran, with Iraq, and with all who resist American imperialism and Zionist occupation," said the official.
His remarks echoed the statement by Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, who said on Thursday that military operations would escalate in the coming period, warning of potential "surprise actions" in line with developments on the ground.
In a televised speech broadcast by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, al-Houthi indicated that the group's campaign would enter a new phase marked by intensified activity and evolving tactics.
The Houthi leader highlighted his group's military role within what he described as coordinated regional efforts, stating that the Yemeni front had contributed to "joint operations with the Axis of Resistance," including missile and drone strikes targeting Israel.
A two-week ceasefire was announced early Wednesday by the United States and Iran. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would comply with the truce but would continue military operations in Lebanon.
Prior to the ceasefire, the Houthis had launched missile and drone attacks against Israel starting on March 28 -- one month after the United States and Israel launched the current massive attacks on Iran -- in what they described as support for allied forces in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.
The group, which has controlled Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since late 2014, previously supported Iran during last year's 12-day conflict with the United States and Israel.
Houthi official warns of military escalation amid regional tensions
