Douglas Costa and the Deputy Mayor were in attendance
Soccer is not the top sport in the United States; soccer is not the most favorable sport in China. What kind of sparks will two not-so-best combinations end up producing?
At the end of September, the first Chinese-controlled Zeta Football Club was born in Irvine, Southern California.
After more than a year of exploring youth training, U.S. soil and Chinese capital took a new step this year with the formation of a professional soccer club. Starting from scratch, after three months of preparation and a little over a month of setup, Zeta Club was all assembled and ready to go in November. It officially moves forward next spring.
Zeta head:We start organizing the team from June 2022 The Chinese-controlled Zeta Club is currently located in the UPSL, which is the fourth level in the United States, equivalent to the domestic middle championship.
In the UPSL, there are about 350 teams, with a couple dozen in Southern California where Zeta is from. The league as a whole is growing very fast and more teams are joining now. This level gathers a lot of players who aren't playing soccer . Youth ladders and college players, but the league level is much higher than the mid-corps.
on-site trial
The team took three months to form, was officially inaugurated on September 25th, and tryouts ended on November 7th. The coach and many of the players have already decided, the coach is a professional coach from Serbia with a US Soccer B coaching certificate. Many of the players he brought with him were available to join the team, with five or six stronger players deciding to join.
Northwestern Lookout: What kind of opportunity was the idea of establishing a soccer club abroad?
Zeta head:We started out in the U.S. doing an attempt at youth training. For more than a year, there are more than 200 registered members, about 150 regular children, and a total of U6.U8.U99% of the men's soccer ladder and women's soccer are Chinese.
After a year of exploration, we are conceptualizing a more complete system, like the pyramid in the soccer system, so we are trying to move towards a professional club, with the formation of Zeta Soccer Club. Signal to the children who participate in youth training that you have a higher space, so that parents can see an upward path for future development.
Northwestern Lookout: This is the first Chinese club to be founded in the U.S. Why didn't you choose Europe instead of the other way around?
Head Zeta: First of all, because I live here; secondly, Irvine in Southern California has more Chinese, one-fifth of the 310,000 people are Chinese. In neighboring cities, north of Los Angeles there are many Chinese. The club wants to use soccer as a bridge to gather Chinese people and build community. The third is the 2026 U.S.-Canada-Mexico World Cup. It is expected that more children will participate in the sport in the next four years, and the soccer fever will be more conducive to the club's growth.
Northwestern Lookout: What's the difference between doing youth training and running a club in the U.S. compared to China?
Head Zeta: We haven't done anything like that in China, and it's hard to talk about it. As far as the United States is concerned, from a youth training perspective, we are primarily Chinese. Chinese families in the U.S. usually invest in more sports, and kids rarely have conflicts between their interests and hobbies. For example, if you study soccer, you can't study foreign languages . Piano . Painting and so on. In general, there is little pressure to study compared to children in China, but Chinese families in Irvine are also very rolled up, but not as exaggerated as in China.
Secondly, although the city of Irvine is small, the park facilities are very good and the stadiums are open to the public. Many homes have parks and free stadiums nearby. You can walk a few steps, which can greatly stimulate kids' enthusiasm and interest in playing soccer. In other words, kids here have more access to and participation in soccer.
There is also a comprehensive sports training facility, GreatPark, with 24 standard soccer fields and one professional soccer field that is overcrowded and hard to book. . Tennis court . Basketball court . It's as if the Beijing Winter Olympics skating champions train at this ice rink.
On weekends, soccer will become an entertaining way of life to maintain family relationships. Many white families, Mexican families, Asian families, Korean, Japanese, etc., parents bring their families to accompany their children on expeditions and games. While watching the game, the parents may pull out the backseat prepared grill and work out on the weekend
