Coach Huang Kaitong poses for a group photo with players. [Photo/Yongpai app]

A girls' football team from a rural primary school in Yuyao, Ningbo, has earned a place in the national finals after an 11-year journey from playing on a rough field to competing on the country's biggest school football stage.

The 16 players from Xiaodong No 2 Primary School won the Southeast Division title at the National Primary School Football Training Camp after recording five straight victories against teams from Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Fujian. They will travel to Qingdao, Shandong province, in August for the national finals, marking the first time in the team's history that it has reached the event.

The team was founded in 2015 at a school where about 97 percent of its more than 700 students are children of migrant workers. At the time, the players had little football experience, practicing on an uneven grass field with makeshift goalposts.

Years of training have transformed the team, with the girls winning their first provincial championship in 2017. They have since collected eight provincial titles.

Coach Huang Kaitong, who gave up his previous career to coach full-time in 2020, said the team has had to rely on persistence and hard work to compete with better-equipped urban schools.

With support from local companies, the team has continued to develop despite limited resources. Over the years, several of its players have been selected for national youth training squads, earned first-level athlete status, and gained admission to universities through football programs.

For the players, football has become more than a sport; it has given them confidence, opportunities, and a pathway toward a wider future.