Glory blooms! KELME Witnessed the Sonic Rose Winning the Championship

The Chinese team won the world championship again after sixteen years!

The 2023 World Junior High School Football Championship opened on the evening of July 23 in the capital city of Morocco, Barat. This tournament will continue until August 1st, with two categories: the men's school team and the women's school team. A total of 29 men's and 18 women's teams from 27 countries and regions participated, with a total of 1200 athletes.

This competition is aimed at high school students under the age of 18 and has been successfully held 26 times since 1972. After this year's competition, the International China Sports Federation will reform the football events, focusing on creating a new brand event, the International China Sports Federation Football World Cup. As a globally renowned sports goods company, KELME provides a complete set of professional sports equipment for the four Chinese teams participating in this tournament, helping Chinese football players compete in the World Championships!

The China High School Sports Association selected two teams, male and female, to participate in this tournament. The women's first team is the Licheng Second High School team in Jinan, Shandong Province, while the women's second team is the first high school team in Baoding, Hebei Province; The men's first team is the Tsinghua University Affiliated High School team, and the men's second team is the Renmin University of China Affiliated High School team.

In the group stage, the women's football team of Jinan Licheng No.2 Middle School won all four matches and advanced to the quarterfinals. And in the quarter finals, they eliminated the Brazilian team 4-3 on penalties and advanced to the semi-finals.

In the semifinals, the women's football team of Jinan Licheng No.2 Middle School met again with the defending champion German team. The two sides drew 0-0 in the first half, and the turning point occurred in the second half. The women's football team of Licheng No.2 Middle School seized the opportunity of a corner kick to score and take the lead. Subsequently, the German team received a penalty kick, but the goalkeeper of the women's football team from Jinan Licheng No.2 Middle School pounced and refused the opponent. In the end, the women's football team of Licheng No.2 Middle School in Jinan defeated the German women's football team 1-0 and advanced to the final.

In another group, the women's football team of Hebei Baoding No.1 Middle School also entered the next stage of the competition with an unbeaten record. In the quarter finals, they defeated the English team 3-2. In the semi-finals, the women's football team of Hebei Baoding No.1 Middle School seized the opportunity in the penalty shootout and defeated the Ugandan team 4-1, meeting with the women's football team of Jinan Licheng No.2 Middle School in the final. This year's final is a historic performance of the "Chinese Derby" by two Chinese teams.

After the final started, the women's football team of Licheng No.2 Middle School had an advantage on the field and launched multiple attacks on the opponent's goal. In the 35th minute, the women's football team in Baoding launched a counterattack and scored the first goal. At the end of the first half, the women's football team of Licheng No.2 Middle School fell 0-1 behind. In the 21st minute of the second half, the women's football team of Licheng No.2 Middle School took advantage of a free kick from the front court, and team member Zhang Yingjie scored a header to equalize the score. Afterwards, the women's football team of Licheng No.2 Middle School repeatedly threatened the opponent's goal. Zhang Yingjie scored another goal towards the end of the game, scoring twice to help the team win 2-1 and win the championship. At the same time, the women's football team of Hebei Baoding No.1 Middle School also won the runner up award.

During the competition, Chinese Ambassador to Morocco Li Changlin, Public Counselor Zhou Zhicheng, Military Officer Xia Kelin, and others visited the scene multiple times to cheer on the Chinese girls. In addition, the staff of the Chinese Embassy in Morocco, as well as Chinese and overseas Chinese, jointly formed a cheering group of over 40 people, waving flags and shouting for the Chinese team in foreign lands, creating a home atmosphere.

Li Damin, Vice Mayor of Dalian City (Left)
Laurent Pechuka, President of the International High School Sports Federation (ISF) (Central)
Zhang Ailong (right), Vice Chairman of the International Chinese Sports Federation and Vice Chairman of the China High School Sports Association

Since officially entering the Chinese market in 2014, KELME has been continuously working in the fields of youth football and campus football to promote the significant development of sports. Always paying attention to and supporting the Chinese women's football industry, and in recent years, continuously sponsoring the Chinese Women's Football League. As the global official sponsor of AFC, a top Asian institution, KELME also provided professional equipment support for the 2022 Women's Football Asian Cup, witnessing the return of Chinese women's football to the pinnacle of Asia after 16 years! At the same time, as the official global sponsor of the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup, KELME will continue to use professional football equipment to support the development of world football, showcase KELME's brand attitude to the world, and leave KELME's era mark in the field of professional football brands.