authentic article:
Newsletter: “Village Supermarket” focuses on the sector of the “Platinum nation” of Africa
Xinhua News Agency, Parakhu, May 26
Xinhua News Agency reporters Zhou Chuyun and Sun Yi
At the top of May, the wet season arrived in Benin. The sizzling and humid climate and rains didn’t dampen the passion of the villagers close to Parakou City to look at the primary last of the “Village Super League”. Brutal battle and dramatic efficiency gained over the viewers.
On the afternoon of the twenty fifth, close to the positioning of Benin’s China-assisted Benin technical help undertaking in Beautiful City Village, Parakou City, as the ultimate whistle blew, the Dam Village group beat their opponents 1:0 after greater than 90 minutes of violence. within the battle and gained the championship trophy.
Mohamed Gbeha, an area cotton farmer, got here on a bike to look at the ultimate and assist his hometown group. He mentioned fortunately: “The recreation was very thrilling! Thank you to the Chinese undertaking group for organizing this soccer league for us!”
Benin is without doubt one of the largest cotton producing nations in Africa, and Parakou is a vital cotton producing space within the nation, referred to as “white gold”, it’s the principal supply of revenue for a lot of native farmers.
Benin’s Benin technical help undertaking has been in Parakou for ten years. The consultants are dedicated to selling cotton cultivation know-how, offering agricultural equipment, technical steerage and agricultural gear help, and coaching native agricultural consultants.
Long-term technical help has helped the undertaking group to develop deep friendships with native residents. When the undertaking group discovered that the residents’ soccer discipline was occupied, they determined to make use of agricultural equipment and scrap supplies to construct an everyday soccer discipline for them close to the settlement.
“The objective was welded and it was executed by us and the native employees. We additionally dug water channels close to the stadium to raised care for the stadium in the course of the wet season.”
When the place known as “Friendship Football Field” was opened, it grew to become the primary place of selection for the villagers of Dolbheni Eliheni and close by villages to play soccer. Especially in the course of the sluggish season, residents typically maintain spontaneous soccer matches right here.
“Football has an excellent native background, and every village additionally has its personal group. We got here up with the thought of studying from the home mannequin of the ‘Village Super League’ and establishing an identical league right here.”
In March 2024, the undertaking group organized the primary “Village Super League” with the assist of native residents, bringing collectively 12 groups from 6 close by villages and Parakul University. The gamers included novices equivalent to cotton farmers, tractor drivers, carpenters and college students. Football lover. The competitors adopts a league format and is held on weekends.
“In the start, there have been just one or two sides of the stadium with spectators.” On the ultimate day, the place was crowded with individuals from throughout, about 700 or 800 individuals watching the sport.
After the finals, the undertaking group specifically organized an award ceremony to offer medals and trophies to the primary, second and third place group in addition to “Best Goalkeeper” and “Best Goalkeeper”. The high three groups every obtained a sheep, symbolizing the great needs of the “Three Yang Kai Tai”. “In the start we didn’t put together trophies and medals, pondering that materials awards can be sufficient.”
Akilu Ates, the cotton manufacturing supervisor of the undertaking group, proudly mentioned that he was concerned within the building of the stadium and the group of the league. “After the stadium was constructed, the villagers have been very glad. When the Chinese consultants and I proposed to carry the ‘Village Super League’ with different villages, we bought one reply from them.”
“Village Super” additionally included particular theater performances combining Chinese martial arts and Benin dance throughout intermission. The organizers of the occasion hope that with the mannequin of “technical help + massive metropolis”, the bottom of the undertaking is not going to solely be a frontier for instructing Chinese know-how, however may even function a platform to unfold Chinese tradition and promote friendship between the 2 nations.
Yves Koba, head of Beautiful City Village, praised the “Village Super League” for selling communication and friendship between native villages. “The ‘Village Super League’ soccer recreation spreads pleasure within the hearts of the villagers and makes us united. I hope it should proceed to be held, and I want my village will get higher outcomes subsequent 12 months.”
Shouxiaoyong mentioned the subsequent step is to pick the very best gamers within the league and type a group to compete in China. “We hope that the African ‘Village Super League’ held right here can go away Africa and take its greatest groups to China to compete and write a brand new chapter within the friendship between the 2 nations.”