As Jiangsu's grassroots Su Super League goes viral online, one team is making headlines. Kedi Yuan FC from Nantong has opened the season with five straight wins – not thanks to big budgets, but through years of persistence, community support, and one man's belief in homegrown football.
Li Taizhen, known locally as "Crazy Li," once ran a successful slipper business. But he gave it all up to chase a lifelong dream – building a grassroots football club in a city where football was never the priority.
Li Taizhen and his young players during training.
Back in 2011, at the age of 42, Li founded Kedi Yuan Football Club in Nantong's Haimen District. He started with just seven players and no field, pouring 60 percent of his factory's profits each year into free training, meals, housing, and even academic tutoring. His aim wasn't to scout stars – it was to develop them.
Li started with just seven players and no field in 2011.
Li's love for the game began in childhood. A former provincial team player and PE teacher, he was deeply affected by a taunt he heard during China's 2002 World Cup match against Brazil: "Chinese don't know football." That moment stayed with him.
Unable to send his son abroad for training as he hoped, Li brought in foreign coaches to train not just his child, but other local kids too. The club slowly built a reputation for discipline, balance, and hard work. Families from across China took notice.
But running a free academy came at a cost. By 2015, Li had sold six properties in Shanghai and Haimen to keep the club going. At one point, he had only 3.2 yuan left. Still, he never asked students to pay.
In 2015, the club appeared on a TV talent show Dream of China. When asked about their dream, one child said: "We hope Dad Xian's (an affectionate name the kids have for Li) slippers sell well." That line touched hearts nationwide.
The club appeared on a talent show in 2015. When asked about their dream, one child said: "We hope Dad Xian's slippers sell well."
Support followed – from business leaders to local government. Haimen officials built dorms and training fields. Real estate firm Zhongnan invested millions. In 2019, Kedi Yuan launched a professional team, aiming for China's top league. By 2021, they joined the national League Two.
In 2016, a football training base was put into use in Haimen District.
Then the funding dried up again. Salaries stopped. Li nearly disbanded the team. A desperate phone call to Haimen officials on the third day of Chinese New Year in 2023 changed everything. The government stepped in with a survival plan and public funding.
In 2025, the club found unexpected fame as the Su Super League surged in popularity. Fans, moved by Li's story, flooded the club's livestreams and bought out his slipper inventory in support.
Slippers with Su Super League elements sold by Li.
Today, the club runs 14 youth teams and has trained over 160 national-level players. Its long-planned training base is finally being built.
Football has become a calling card for Haimen, with Kedi Yuan now a star club boasting 14 youth teams and over 200 players – carrying on a football legacy born in a slipper factory.
Li's dream was never about glory. It was about proving that football, done right, could thrive from the grassroots.
"We don't buy players. We grow them," he said.