China's U12 Football Team Stuns Europe, Beats Everton To Claim Italian Crown

The Chinese Football Boy 2014 team, coached by well-known football commentator Dong Lu, won the Sigismondi International Youth Cup in Italy yesterday, defeating Everton's academy side 5-4.

Competing in a 48-team tournament, China's U12 side finished their campaign with a perfect 7-0 record, scoring 21 goals and conceding only two. In the group stage, they beat Italy's TTT 2-0, Danish powerhouse FC Copenhagen 5-0, and GGR 7-0.

Founded in August 2017, the Chinese Football Boy is a grassroots youth development project initiated by Dong. He has poured a total of 58 million yuan (US$8.57 million) of his own self-raised funds into the program. The project currently operates multiple age-group teams ranging from 2009 to 2015.

Unlike their European opponents, who train three to four times per week in professional settings, the Chinese players are selected from campus football programs across the country. The boys study and train separately during regular semesters and only come together for short training camps during school breaks.

The team's philosophy revolves around "learning through competition." Over nine years, Dong has led nearly 100 young players in more than 300 international matches, developing emerging stars such as Kuang Zhaolei and Wan Xiang. Notably, 10 players from the Chinese Football Boy program were part of China's U17 Asian Cup squad that finished as runners-up.

Following the victory, Dong said in a video statement: "If Chinese football truly wants to take off, we not only need to start from childhood — we also need to win from childhood. Every victory is a solid step toward a brighter future."