Soccer competition held in Artux, NW China’s Xinjiang-TIANSHANNET-天山网

Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Wang Jingjing) news: The 2023 Artux regional invitational soccer competition in Artux City, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, ended on November 22, but the upsurge of the game on short video platforms did not dissipate: the 70-year-old man and the young man who climbed on the wall, the crowd who surged inside the stadium, and thousands of people who stood outside the stadium listened to the sound and watched the livestreaming of the game on their mobile phones...

Photo taken on November, 11, 2023, shows the audience on the pitch at 2023 Artux regional invitational soccer competition in Artux City, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Xie Zhi)

These short videos, permeated with the pure love of Xinjiang people for football, have impressed the netizens. Up to now, videos about the city's first regional invitational soccer competition have been played over 415 million times on the Internet.

How did an amateur invitational soccer competition go viral?

Passionate fans in Artux

To the locals, the popularity of the competition is closely related to the vibrant soccer atmosphere in Artux.

In February of this year, Artux City held a citywide soccer competition between townships and communities, with nearly 10,000 people watching. "No need to call out, no need to mobilize, as soccer competitions in Artux are never lack of viewers," He Shifeng, vice president of the Artux City Soccer Association, said.

The CCTV sports channel covered the competition at the time, and the host summarized the love of the people for soccer in Artux, a city also known as the "home of soccer", precisely by saying, "How important is soccer to Artux? Just like the cumin sprinkled on the grilled lamb."

Photo shows 2023 Artux regional invitational soccer competition in Artux City, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, attracting 216 athletes from nine teams in eight prefectures and cities across Xinjiang. (Photo by Xie Zhi)

The 2023 Artux regional invitational soccer competition kicked off on November 11, 2023, attracting 216 athletes from nine teams in eight prefectures and cities across Xinjiang. As the host, Artux has two teams participating in the competition. In addition to the Artux team, there is also a soccer team named Yikesake.

This is a team that witnessed the long history of soccer in Artux. In 1927, the soccer team of Yikesake Village won the soccer game organized by the British and Sweden Consulates, so the spirit of patriotism and love of soccer is like a never-extinguished torch that ignites the passion of Artux people.

Artux is known as the "home of soccer". In this small border town of less than 300,000 people, from toddlers to gray-haired ones, their everlasting love for soccer has been engraved upon their hearts and souls for a hundred years.

This is not just a soccer tournament. Either the players on the field or the audience in the stands all together bring vitality to this soccer festival, like the tempting aroma of cumin, driving the hundreds of millions of netizens on the other side of the network to smell the fragrance of the local prosperous days.

Stars attracting audience plus market-oriented operation behind the scenes

The 2023 Artux regional invitational soccer competition was well prepared to improve the quality of the tournament and attract fans.

The invitational competition was held after the national soccer league. "Artux has raised many players who are playing in professional leagues at all levels across the country, and the reason for bifurcating the time is to allow these stars to return to the green fields in their hometowns, so that young people across Xinjiang who love soccer can see their idols with their own eyes, and be inspired to keep their love of soccer," He Shifeng said.

Players from Artux who play for Guangzhou FC and Henan FC returned to their hometown to cheer for the invitational competition. In addition, the competition also invited the famous referee of the Chinese Super League, Mamatjan Ahmat, to adjudicate, which enhanced the professionalism of the competition.

Team members who participated in the tournament also have their own characteristics: Akbar Kulwan, known as Xinjiang "Lionel Messi", and Muradil Nurmamat, known as Xinjiang "Cristiano Ronaldo", recorded a video for the invitational tournament, which became a hot topic on the Internet, and the stadium turned into a large-scale fan meeting site. In Xinjiang, children who play soccer are very fond of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. This video went viral, not only let the fans in Xinjiang meet with their idols, but also attracted the attention of netizens all over the country.

Behind the scenes is the close collaboration of many departments in Artux City to support the competition. Before the competition, the stadium infrastructure was repaired and upgraded, and during the competition, each unit drew staff to form a volunteer team to maintain order and serve the fans. In order to facilitate the players and fans, Artux actively coordinated 13 buses to open a special line for team players and fans. "We just do the basic jobs, the rest of them depend on the soccer association, fans, related companies, and market-oriented operation of the competition," said Chen Guanyu, secretary of leading Party members group and the deputy director of Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau of Artux City.

What does this popular event bring to Artux?

"During the competition, the occupancy rate of my hotel reached 70 percent, much more than that of previous years, so as long as the fans who came to Artux to watch the competition and stayed in my hotel, I reduced the price by 30 percent," said Zhou Wenrong, the owner of the Kelai Hotel in Artux.

In Artux, the local soccer association coordinated with several larger hotels to offer rooms with lower prices for the players. Fans from all over the country who came to watch the competition also enjoyed more affordable prices when they stayed at hotels in Artux City.

Photo shows the audience on the pitch at 2023 Artux regional invitational soccer competition held in November, in Artux City, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Xie Zhi)

“We were infected by the enthusiasm of the fans. Although no one asked us to lower our prices, we did it voluntarily, and all the hotels in the city basically lowered their prices during the tournament.” Zhou Wenrong said that there were several fans from Hotan accommodated in his hotel from the first day of the tournament to the last. “People really like soccer, and the soccer tournament brings the city popularity. We want to do something to contribute to and win a good reputation for Artux.”

During the competition, major hotels in Artux received more than 17,000 guests, an increase of 93 percent year-on-year. Local restaurants and farmhouses upgraded the quality of local specialties and launched a "soccer package", which led to a 75 percent year-on-year increase in consumption during the competition.

“The video of an old man climbing over a wall to watch the competition went viral on the Internet, and we were actually heartbroken and sorry to be restricted by the venue and keep so many fans out of the stadium." He Shifeng said that tickets for a game cost 15 yuan (about 2.1 U.S. dollars), and when the people of Artux saw that fans from outside Xinjiang couldn’t buy tickets in the line, they let out the front to let guests from outside Xinjiang to have the opportunities to watch the game.

Photo shows children watch 2023 Artux regional invitational soccer competition held in November, in Artux City, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Xie Zhi)

Fans who lingered outside the stadium without tickets were given free tickets to Artux Azhan, Artux Tianmen and other scenic spots, and were invited to know Artux outside the stadium. Thus, the flow of people in the scenic spots also reached a new high.

During the competition, there were more than 100 stalls inside and outside the venue, which led to the flexible employment of more than 1,000 people and broadened the channels for local people to increase their income. Tourists from all over the country could taste mutton soup for free, and they could also have a taste of Artux figs and Munag grapes. During the halftime of the competition and outside the stadium, the local famous and excellent agricultural products were on live stream for more than 20 times, with sales of more than 12 million yuan (about 1.68 million U.S. dollars).

Football will bring more long-term changes to Artux City. Chen Guanyu introduced that the local government will invest 17 million yuan (about 2.38 million U.S. dollars) to build a standard soccer stadium that can accommodate more than 5,000 people to guarantee the extensive development of soccer. Based on the profound historical foundation of soccer culture in Artux, which has been inherited for a hundred years, the local government will not only continue to hold all kinds of competitions regularly to expand the influence of soccer culture, but also apply to the cultural heritage as "hometown of soccer for a hundred years" to promote the revitalization of soccer.

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