Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Jiazila Nisibaike) news: In July, 2025, southern Xinjiang is scorching hot. Near noon, the girls' football team of Qiaoda Township Central Primary School is training hard under the blazing sun.

“Stay in formation and press the striker!” the moment you step through the school gate you can hear coach Mamat Yunus whistling and directing the girls through a defensive drill. The squad, nicknamed the “Qiaoda Phoenix Team” has an average age of just 11 and is already the pride of Pishan County, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Its former team delivered the county’s first football title in more than seventy years.

The current captain of “Qiaoda Phoenix Team” is twelve-year-old Mehiray Mamatabla. Like a young cheetah, she slips past the defenders and fires a shot, but goalkeeper Reyhangul Mamat rushes out and blocks the shot with her body.

Photo shows Mehiray Mamatabla, the team captain of the “Qiaoda Phoenix Team” lines up a shot during training on the basketball court of Qiaoda Township Central Primary School, Pishan County, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/Jiazila Nisibaike)

"Good job!" Mamat leaned forward slightly and clapped his hands vigorously.

A smile naturally spread across Reyhangul’s face. It’s hard to imagine that the fearless girl on the pitch is actually shy off the pitch. “Football has made me confident and also helped me make many good friends,” she said.

Annoyed at missing the shot, Mehiray quickly regained her focus and gave her teammates a thumbs-up.

“Are you tired?” the reporter asked her during the break.

“Not at all. Playing football fills us with energy,” the girl replied, wiping sweat from her face.

Football has given these girls tremendous strength.

Mehiray used to struggle academically, but Mamat told her she had to raise her grades to stay on the team. “So I studied hard, and I went from near the bottom of the class to the top three,” she said.

Dreams take flight here

Mamat, 40, graduated in 2003 from Hotan Teachers College (now Hotan College) with a degree in primary-school physical-education teaching and joined Qiaoda Township Central Primary School in 2009. In 2011, while attending a professional training program in Hefei City, China’s Anhui Province, he visited a local primary school to observe its practices.

“The school had a football team, and the children's teamwork and determination really touched me. I knew I had to start a football team when I got back,” Mamat said.

At the time, football was only one activity among many in the school’s sports clubs. In 2012, Mamat selected pupils from grades three to six and formed both a boys’ and a girls’ team, naming the girls’ squad the “Qiaoda Phoenix Team.”

Photo shows Reyhangul Mamat, a goalkeeper of Qiaoda Phoenix Team, practices throwing and catching the ball. (Photo by Ardak Bashan)

Mamat never expected the girls to love football so fiercely. They trained day after day, even without a proper pitch, kits, or shoes.

In 2019, Mamat rebuilt a girls’ football team from scratch. This squad brought the name “Qiaoda Phoenix Team” into the public eye.

In the summer of 2021, Mamat led the girls to the Hotan round of the “Running Youth” youth football trials for southern Xinjiang, and they stunned everyone by winning the title.

“When they returned, the school held a welcome ceremony and invited all the parents. Many of them were in tears,” Mamat recalled.

Asked about their dream, the girls answered in unison: “We want to play a match in Beijing, China, so we can finally see Tiananmen Square!”

Photo shows the “Qiaoda Phoenix Team.” (Photo by Mamat Yunus)

Mamat also hopes to take the girls to more high-level tournaments so they can learn new skills. “I believe in them. If others can do it, they surely can too!”

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