(Original title: Chinese and British football cross-border cooperation! High Diamond Culture × Burnley Club start a new journey of youth football)
From 14:00 to 17:00 on January 18, 2026, the official press conference of “Creating a New Chapter Together: Launch of Sino-British Cultural Exchange Project Cooperation” jointly sponsored by High Diamond Culture Group and Burnley FC of the Premier League was held grandly in the Ruisheng Hall on the fifth floor of the Eastonton Hotel in Guangzhou. With the vision of “Football is just the start. East meet west. Talent Rises.”, this grand event brought together representatives from the government, business, sports, and media circles to officially announce the full implementation of the China-UK cross-border football cultural exchange and youth training project.
The press conference was star-studded, with leaders from the core management team of High Diamond Culture, HT Sport and Global Sports all present. Supporting units such as the Chinese Football Association and Jiangsu Football Association, as well as Burnley Club’s current players and youth training coaching team, were all present. 12 well-known domestic media including Tencent Video, iQiyi, Youku Video, and Sina News covered the entire event, witnessing this important moment of cross-border cooperation.
First from the left, Mr. Lai Hairuo, CEO of Sparkone Media
Second from left, Mr. James Holroyd, President of Burnley Football Club
Third from left, Mr. Li Jinming, President of Gaozuan Culture Group
This cooperation stems from China and the UK’s mutual emphasis on youth physical education. Football has far-reaching significance in cultivating young people’s physical fitness, teamwork and psychological quality. As one of the founding members of the English Football League, Burnley Club was founded in 1882 and has a glorious history: it won the FA Cup for the first time in the 1913-14 season, won two top league championships in the 1920-21 season and 1959-60 season, and returned to the Premier League as the runner-up in the English Championship in the 2024-25 season and set the best defensive record in the league. Its youth training system is even more famous in Europe. Its staged and practical training model covers teenagers between the ages of 9 and 18. It is equipped with 18 full-time coaches and has an annual operating capital of over 2.3 million pounds. It has trained well-known players such as Calvin Phillips, and has repeatedly promoted players from the youth training echelon to form the championship lineup.
Right: Mr. Tang Shangzhou, Commercial General Manager of Burnley Club
In the Chinese camp, Gaozuan Culture Group relies on its rich sports marketing experience to be responsible for project operations and provide cross-border resources. As one of the core youth training bases, Shanghai Qiyi Football Park is equipped with multi-standard professional stadiums, sports medical rehabilitation centers and other complete facilities to undertake the functions of local training and event implementation, forming a complete support chain of “international resources + local execution”. The two parties hope to introduce Burnley’s professional coaching resources and scientific training concepts, combined with international education and cultural exchanges, to create a dual-track development path of “sports skills + humanistic literacy” for Chinese teenagers, promote the internationalization of Chinese football training, discover seed players, and cultivate compound talents with both competitive strength and global vision. In the future, both Chinese and foreign parties will take the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a starting point and then spread across the country; providing more cutting-edge concepts, paths and models for the international development of Chinese football!
Friendly match between China U14 Women’s Football Team and Burnley
Friendly match between China U14 men’s football team and Burnley
At the press conference, the two parties announced a one-year core plan: from March to July 2026, the “Burnley China First Middle School Football Open” will be held, covering the four competition areas of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai. There are two major age groups (12-13 years old) and (14-15 years old), a total of 60 middle school student teams and 1,600 young players. They will compete for the crown through the national audition single knockout stage, the top 32 and the finals. The event adopts an 8-a-side competition system. If there is a tie in the regular time of the knockout round, the winner will be a direct penalty kick. The champion team will receive a bonus of 10,000 yuan and the opportunity to sponsor youth training in England. The second and third place will receive bonuses of 6,000 yuan and 3,000 yuan respectively. All winning teams will receive certificates of honor and customized medals certified by Burnley.
In terms of youth training cooperation, the shortlisted seed teams will receive the first round of professional training from Burnley coaches at Shanghai Qiyi Football Park. Outstanding players can also receive formal invitations from Premier League teams to further their studies at British club training bases and immerse themselves in the Premier League football training system. At the same time, the project will cooperate with schools and communities to carry out football interest cultivation activities, deepen the integration of sports and education through street leagues, “Growth Star” selections and other forms, so that football can be integrated into more young people’s after-school life.
This cross-border cooperation is not only a precise connection between top international football resources and the Chinese local market, but also a deep integration of Chinese and Western sports cultures. Through the implementation of a mature youth training system and the hosting of high-level events, it not only provides an international growth platform for Chinese teenagers, but also brings advanced concepts and methods to the Chinese football training industry, helps promote the integrated development of sports and education, and cultivates more reserves for the future of Chinese football. In the future, the two parties will continue to deepen cooperation, expand the breadth and depth of football cultural exchanges, make the vision of “football as a bridge, talent rise” a reality, and jointly write a new chapter in Sino-British sports cultural exchanges and youth football development.
