GUIYANG: China’s grassroots Village Super League has taken a major international step, bringing together 371 players from 16 teams representing more than 30 countries and regions for its first international cup in Rongjiang County, southwest China’s Guizhou Province.
The 2026 VSL International Football Cup, widely described as the “Mini Cun Chao World Cup,” opened at the Village Super League field with 199 foreign players joining the parade. The tournament marks the biggest international expansion yet for the competition, which began as a local village football event and went viral in 2023.
Known in Chinese as “Cun Chao,” the Village Super League originated in Rongjiang County in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture and has been running for more than three years.
Organisers have set out a broader international vision for the event, with plans for a larger Cun Chao World Cup in 2028.
First international cup draws teams from around the world
The seven-day tournament began on September 30 and features players from countries including Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia.
For local fans, the event has turned what was once a county-level tournament into a much more international spectacle.
Yang Bing, a commentator from Kouzhai Village who has covered hundreds of VSL matches, said the tournament felt different from previous international friendlies because it was the first time the league had staged a full international cup.
Local teenager Yang Zheng said seeing foreign teams compete in his hometown made the event feel like a real World Cup and inspired him to hope for a future place on the same stage.
Players have expressed a similar sense of excitement.
Lu Jinfu, who played for the Rongjiang County team against Malaysia South Tigers, said hearing different languages around the pitch created the atmosphere of an international football tournament.
Football and cultural exchange share the spotlight
The competition has also developed into a platform for cultural exchange.
VSL ambassador Jiang Zuoxian said players were not only travelling to Rongjiang for football but were also taking part in local cultural activities and interacting with residents.
On October 1, she met returning Brazilian player Mateus Pereira and taught him a Miao folk song, reflecting the informal exchanges taking place around the tournament.
Brazilian player Akonjom Great Nek, whose Chinese name is Kang Wei, said the atmosphere was among the best he had experienced at an amateur international football event.
He said the tournament had allowed players from different countries to meet, communicate and build friendships through football.
Brazilian teams have become familiar visitors to Rongjiang, combining competitive matches with interactions involving tourists, local supporters and other teams.
From viral village football to global platform
The Village Super League surged in popularity between May and July 2023 and has since sought to attract more international participation.
The 2026 international cup is the most ambitious step so far in that expansion.
Organisers and local participants say the event is increasingly becoming a people-to-people exchange platform, with football acting as the main connection between Rongjiang and visitors from abroad.
The long-term plan is to build towards the 2028 Cun Chao World Cup, which is expected to further expand the international reach of the grassroots competition.