Xinhuanet Finance Watch ｜ ＂Su Chao＂, it’s not just football that is on fire.
Xinhuanet Beijing June 13 thTitle: "Su Chao", it’s not just football that is on fire.
Xinhuanet reporters Gao Chang, Chen Shuo, Lu Huadong and Wang Hengzhi.
This summer, the amateur football match Jiangsu City Football League (hereinafter referred to as "Su Chao") was screened, which not only ignited the national football enthusiasm, but also became a social phenomenon and cultural symbol that people were scrambling to discuss.
How does Su Chao organize its operation? What is unique? Can its hot circle be copied?
How did Su Chao come from?
In November, 2024, Jiangsu Province held the Jiangsu Football Development Key City Competition between Nanjing and Suzhou. Now it seems that this tournament is the embryonic form of the current "Su Chao".
"The effect of watching the match last year was very good. After the match, the province called a meeting of the provincial sports bureau and relevant departments to discuss bringing in 11 other cities to play such a football league." Wang Xiaowan, vice chairman of Jiangsu Football Association, said in an exclusive interview with reporters that the original intention of hosting the competition was to attract more people’s attention and let people who don’t watch football get in touch with football matches.
In May, 2025, the Jiangsu City Football League, jointly sponsored by Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau and the municipal governments, and jointly hosted by the municipal sports bureaus, the provincial Football Association and the provincial sports industry group, was opened. The fans nicknamed this amateur game "Su Chao", which is to benchmark it with the professional league in terms of name, and also to look forward to "soccer at home".
On May 25th, the players entered the stadium before the game. On the same day, the second round of Jiangsu City Football League in 2025 was held in Suqian Olympic Sports Center Stadium. Xinhua Net Fa (photo by Ma Haifeng)
According to the Jiangsu Football Association, in order to meet the "Su Chao", the formation of teams in 13 districts and cities is very active. Some teams issued recruitment notices at the end of last year.
In order to "support the home team", some professional players and retired coaches have joined in, which has obviously improved the quality of the game and gradually attracted the attention of all parties.
It is reported that the professional players of "Su Chao" are similar to foreign aid in professional leagues. In order to ensure the level of competition and the appreciation of the competition, each team is limited to three professional players.
"Our team was just formed in March this year, with students, coaches and some staff working in various industries." Yang Xiaotian, captain and coach of Nanjing Team, said that unlike professional teams, the training of Nanjing Team participating in the "Su Chao" is mostly arranged at night, because the players have their own work and study during the day, and they are all busy, so they can concentrate on training only after work or after school.
According to the rules of the tournament, the professional players participating in the competition must have a close relationship with the city: they are locals, have been engaged in professional football for five years in the local area, or come from local youth training.
On June 1st, the third round of Jiangsu City Football League in 2025 was held at Wutaishan Sports Center Stadium in Nanjing. The picture shows the match between Nanjing team and Wuxi team. Xinhua Net Fa (Photo courtesy of the organizer)
In addition, "Su Chao" broke through the traditional identity and boundaries, adhering to the principle of "whoever goes first", which lowered the threshold for participating players and expanded the coverage of the fun of the event.
"I went home a few days ago, and my daughter in junior high school told me that now all her classmates are discussing’ Su Chao’." Wang Xiaowan told reporters that many people around him who were not interested in or concerned about football are also paying attention to "Su Chao"; On the court, I saw many fans taking their children to watch the game.
"Su Chao" makes football integrate into the city, enter the masses and return to happiness. A Suqian spectator took his father into the stadium, which was the first time that his father in his fifties walked into the Olympic Sports Center in his hometown. After watching the game, he asked his son, when is the next match?
"The popularity of’ Su Chao’ is essentially the resonance of regional cultural identity, grassroots sports vitality and communication laws in the digital age." Huang Haiyan, Dean of School of Management, Beijing Sport University, believes that when participants closely bind themselves with city symbols, they will stimulate a strong sense of belonging and desire for communication.
On May 25th, fans cheered for the team in the stands. On the same day, the second round of Jiangsu City Football League in 2025 was held in Suqian Olympic Sports Center Stadium. Xinhua Net Fa (photo by Ma Haifeng)
It’s not just football with fire.
In the commercial operation of sports events, Jiangsu Sports Industry Group adopted the strategy of "professional operation+resource integration", introduced the title sponsors of sports events through market operation, and linked with many industries and enterprises to show the commercial value of sports events.
Sponsorship funds will be accurately invested in the prize pool of the competition, the construction of all-media communication matrix and the professional guarantee of the competition, forming a virtuous circle of "commercial investment-competition upgrading-brand building".
Gu Ye, chairman of Jiangsu Sports Industry Group, said: "Sponsors introduce traffic resources to the league through their own communication channels, and the league platform provides accurate exposure scenes for cooperative brands to realize the’ two-way trip’ between brand value and event influence. Enhance the commercial value and brand communication efficiency of the league through the innovative model of’ resource mutual feeding’. "
Opponents on the court, friends off the court. At the final whistle, the "second game" belonging to the fans began, and the crowds flocked to the night market and scenic spots.
According to statistics, the "9.9 yuan Tickets+Dried Radish Fried Rice" package launched by Changzhou Division has doubled the online sales of local dried radish brands; The number of night tourists in Zhenjiang Xijindu Scenic Area has increased by 3 times compared with usual; The "Bird Watching+Game Watching" package launched by Yancheng has a booking volume of over 20,000.
At the beginning of 2025, Jiangsu Province issued "Several Measures on Further Promoting the Linkage of Cultural and Sports Tourism to Boost Consumption", established a fair, transparent and orderly reward mechanism, increased the cultivation of relevant business entities, enhanced the lasting motivation for high-quality development, and further opened up the channel of "increasing traffic".
According to incomplete statistics, in 2024, by entering scenic spots, neighborhoods and business districts, there were more than 502 events held in cultural tourism places in Jiangsu Province, with a total of 681,000 participants, driving 6.15 million passengers and driving accommodation, catering and tourism consumption to exceed 3 billion yuan.
Li Chuan, deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, said that he will further focus on major sports events such as the football league, seize the opportunity of the event, make good use of the resources of the event, and support the cultural tourism departments and cultural tourism enterprises where the event is held to actively participate, actively support and provide services. During the competition, he will plan special tourism products, introduce measures to facilitate the people and stimulate the public’s enthusiasm for participation with high-quality cultural tourism supply, and strive to turn "flow" into "retention" and "passenger flow" into "tourists"
According to statistics, during the Dragon Boat Festival of Jiangsu City Football League, 90,000 spectators watched the game on the spot, which led to an increase of 14.63% in the total consumption of UnionPay in different channels in six cities at home.
On May 31st, the players of Yangzhou team greeted the audience. On the same day, the third round of Jiangsu City Football League in 2025 was held in Changzhou Institute of Technology Stadium, and Yangzhou team beat Changzhou team 1-0. Xinhua Net Fa (Photo courtesy of the organizer)
Can "Su Chao" be copied?
The provincial football league is not the first in Jiangsu. However, it was "Su Chao" who took the lead.
Seeing the explosion of "Su Chao", football leagues in other provinces have been "named" by netizens. Where is the next "Su Chao"? Can I "copy my homework" elsewhere?
"The’ Su Chao Model’ provides a replicable model for other regions." Huang Haiyan said that the "Su Chao model" is characterized by the deep integration of sports events and regional culture, and then the use of social media to spread and amplify, so that sports events break through the circle restrictions and evolve into a cultural phenomenon of national participation. By tapping local cultural resources, innovating competition modes and activating social communication, grass-roots sports events may become the new engine of regional development.
Ding Hong, a special researcher in Jiangsu Counselor’s Office and vice president of Jiangsu Urban Economics Association, believes that the "Su Chao" has transformed the "short-term flow" of football matches into a "long-term mechanism" for the integrated development of cultural tourism, explored the industrial development model of "sports+cultural tourism+finance", and raised the multiplier effect of the coordinated development of regional economic differentiation through the creative transformation of regional culture.
On June 1st, the fans cheered for the Nanjing team. On the same day, the third round of Jiangsu City Football League in 2025 was held at Wutaishan Sports Center Stadium in Nanjing. Xinhua Net Fa (Photo courtesy of the organizer)
It will take time to verify whether the next "Su Chao" can be copied, but avoiding "a flash in the pan" is a problem that "Su Chao" has to consider at present.
Some experts said that part of the current popularity of "Su Chao" comes from "playing with stalks", and many "stalks" will have no freshness over time. Therefore, "Su Chao" needs to have its own inheritance and heritage, not just for the sake of watching the fun.
In this regard, Huang Haiyan suggested that "Su Chao" should further strengthen its cultural identity, and enhance its fans’ stickiness by digging deep into regional cultural characteristics and strengthening community cultural construction.
"The essence of sports events lies in their competitive charm and ornamental value. If’ Su Chao’ wants to maintain its popularity for a long time, it must deepen the connotation of the event, focus on the quality of the event, and improve the quality of the event by improving the competitive level, optimizing the experience of the event, and strengthening brand communication. " Huang Haiyan said.
The explosion of "Su Chao" cannot be separated from the power of the Internet. For the future of "Su Chao", netizens also made suggestions.
Netizen "@ Wasteland" believes that after the conditions of the existing events are mature, after two or three years of development, the promotion and demotion mechanism will be gradually introduced to expand the number of teams and join more cities such as Kunshan, Zhangjiagang, Jiangyin and Taicang to participate in the competition.
Netizen "@Nakil" believes that it is hoped that the benign football soil can be planted thick and then spread to other parts of the country. Over time, football can really develop. (Planning: Wanfang Author: Gao Chang Chen Shuo Lu Huadong Wang Hengzhi Participated in the Report: Li Nandan)
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