Amateur football tournaments boost China’s catering, tourism consumption

China

Amateur football tournaments boost China’s catering, tourism consumption

2026-06-01 15:27 Last Updated At：16:07

As amateur football tournaments heat up across China, cities in Jiangsu and Liaoning Provinces have set up off-site venues for fans to watch the games, giving a strong boost to local consumption.

Last year, the Su Super League, an amateur competition featuring 13 city teams from east China's Jiangsu Province, became a nationwide sensation and ignited a grassroots football fever, prompting the establishment of similar events in other regions, such as Fujian Province and Northeast China.

The second season of the Su Super League kicked off in April and concluded its eighth week of games on Saturday night.

The tournament has driven a sharp rise in restaurant revenues in Jiangsu's Taizhou City, and local shopping malls have also launched match-watching promotions to lure customers.

"Thanks to the popularity of the Su Super League, our foot traffic has surged, and our revenue, particularly nighttime revenue, has more than doubled year on year," said Zhu Xuepeng, owner of a local restaurant.

Yancheng City, a famous hub for crayfish production in Jiangsu that hosts crayfish festivals every summer, is also screening Su Super League games at the festival site and offering special discounts tied to the matches.

The month-long food festival is expected to attract more than 300,000 visitors and drive over 30 million yuan (about 4.4 million U.S. dollars) in combined sales from catering, retail, and related sectors.

The 2026 Northeast China City Football League, popularly dubbed the "Northeast Super League," is also underway, drawing fans from across the country.

To elevate the fan experience, the four host regions -- Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia -- have jointly launched a cultural and tourism campaign titled "Super Tour Northeast." The initiative features seven curated travel routes and multiple public viewing venues.

Fans holding match ticket stubs can enjoy exclusive discounts at partner hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and local bathhouses.

Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning, has set up 33 viewing spots across the city, where vendors are enjoying a boom in sales.

"On the busiest day, we sold 500 or 600 chicken racks. The three of us couldn't keep up. Now, people from all over the country are coming to Shenyang. I'm really looking forward to the game on June 13, and I will stock up for it," said Ma Jixing, a vendor.

According to the schedule, the Shenyang team will host the team of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture on June 13.

Millions of Yemeni children still endure displacement, hunger after years of war

The crisis in Yemen has upturned the lives of children across Yemen, disrupting education during their formative years and leaving many in a state of constant fright.

Millions of minors in the Middle Eastern country face a childhood defined by displacement, hunger, and survival. After more than a decade of conflict that has led to severe malnutrition and the collapse of essential services, young people are growing up knowing more about survival than stability.

In Yemen's capital city Sana'a, 11-year-old Rafiq Ahmed Abdo was forced to leave school because his family could no longer survive without his help.

Now, he spends his days selling prickly pears under the scorching sun on the streets of Sana'a. On a good day, after an exhausting 12 hours of work, he earns around 1,500 Yemeni riyals, or less than seven U.S. dollars.

"The war prevented us from continuing our education. I regret leaving school, but the situation forced me to do it. I want to return to school so that I can achieve my dreams to become a doctor," Abdo said.

His story, echoed across the country, reflects the reality facing an entire generation of Yemeni children whose lives have been shaped by conflict, deprivation, and uncertainty.

According to United Nations estimates, around 7.4 million children across Yemen are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection.

"There are still children dying today -- a slow death today caused by the effects of the war. They are also suffering due to the lack of medicine, the closure of Sanaa Airport, and the closure of land crossings, which have prevented access to medicine for Yemenis," said Ahmed Abu Hamra, head of the Ayn Al-Insaniya Center for Rights and Development in Sanaa.

Apart from physical ailments, the anxiety of living in a war-torn environment has left an equally devastating psychological impact on many young Yemenis.

"A large number of children suffer from bedwetting. Some suffer from sleep disorders. Others live in fear of loud sounds because of aircraft, bombs, and explosions," said Ali Taysir, head of the National Authority for Human Rights in Sanaa.