The Shine River Cup tournament has grown into an annual festival and a significant cultivation base for promising soccer players in Ewenki of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo provided to China Daily]

While much of the soccer-loving world will be focused on the machinations of the postponed Euro 2020 competition taking place across Europe this summer, and many Chinese fans will be eagerly watching their national side's World Cup qualifying campaign unfold in the United Arab Emirates, in the Ewenki Autonomous Banner of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, there is a far more important tournament on the horizon.

In the Shine River region of the banner, an annual soccer tournament, organized by local herdsmen, has been held since the 1980s. The festival of soccer, which is named the Shine River Cup after the herdsmen's hometown, has been nurturing a loyal local following and a love of the beautiful game in the region for the best part of four decades.

In 1986, some financially capable herdsmen bought televisions for their families and watched that year's FIFA World Cup in Mexico.

Inspired by the exciting on-pitch antics of the likes of Argentina's Diego Maradona, Belgium's Jan Ceulemans and England's Gary Lineker, local herdsmen wanted to have a game of their own.

The Shine River Cup tournament has grown into an annual festival and a significant cultivation base for promising soccer players in Ewenki of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"We immediately put the idea into practice, although there were only two teams taking part in the game that year," says Zaan, one of the event's founding organizers.

Although almost 35 years have passed, the 67-year-old retired physical education teacher can still recall many details about that year's game.

The trophy was purchased somewhere outside the Shine River region with the help of a friend from afar, he says. However, the trophy didn't arrive until long after the game had finished.

A vase was used as a temporary substitute, says Zaan, who has carefully noted down detailed information about every game since the very beginning.

Such information includes the names of the players and judges, the scores of each game, the sponsors of each game and the amount of money they donated, among other details.

The Shine River Cup tournament has grown into an annual festival and a significant cultivation base for promising soccer players in Ewenki of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Net gains

After years of effort, the Shine River Cup has gradually become well-known locally, with a growing number of teams participating in the tournament. A trophy and a logo were also created specially for the event, says Tamir, head of the Shine River Soccer Club.

The tournament generally lasts for up to five days in late July with eight or nine teams from 12 villages taking part.

Most of the players are local herdsmen or young men who attend college in the nearby cities of Hohhot and Baotou. There are also some junior school students, Tamir says.

"The game is held during summer vacation because many of our college students are back home and are able to join in," he says.

He adds that the games are not held on professional soccer fields, but local grasslands, which the herdsmen manicure to meet the standard required for the tournament.

The event draws a large audience, with the greatest turnout topping 2,000 people. The crowd is mostly made up of local herdsmen, who bring all their family members-the elderly and the children-to watch the tournament, Tamir says.

The 38-year-old, who started playing soccer when he was 13, says the biggest value of the game is that it involves a lot of people and encourages them to exercise and stay healthy.

"Some already had a passion for soccer before coming to watch the game, and more are developing an interest in the sport as a result of watching the competition," he says, adding that many of his family members and friends used to be, or are now, players of the game.

In Tamir's eyes, it's not easy to continuously hold such a grassroots-level sports tournament for so many years.

"The source of funds is the biggest challenge," he says, adding that the club doesn't have stable income, so the annual tournament relies greatly on financial support from local culture and sports departments, as well as the registration fees paid by the soccer players.

People are doing all they can to keep the game going, Tamir says.

Some donate money, and those who are unable to do so choose to provide beef and mutton as food for the players, he says.

The Shine River Cup tournament has grown into an annual festival and a significant cultivation base for promising soccer players in Ewenki of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Local flavor

Tsetseg, a female herder from Bayankhoshuu village, started watching the Shine River Cup as a little girl and has been in love with it ever since. In the early 2000s, when she was in her 30s, she began to play her own part, volunteering to be a driver, cheerleader and assistant of the soccer team in her village.

During the season each year, she will get up before sunrise to finish her work, such as milking and herding the cattle, so that she can have enough time to go door to door picking up the soccer players in her village.

She drives the players, as well as the meat donated by villagers, to the soccer field via her tractor. After arriving at the ground, she is also responsible for cooking meals for the players.

For people in the Shine River Cup, the annual soccer tournament is like Naadam, a traditional festival for the members of the Mongolian ethnic group to celebrate harvest through all kinds of entertainment, Tsetseg says.

Herdsmen from near and far are excited about coming to watch and enjoy the festival atmosphere of the event, she adds.

In recent years, as more local people-regardless of their age, gender or ethnic group-gain enthusiasm for the sport, Tamir's club has added Futsal (a mini, five-a-side soccer game) to the annual tournament.

Futsal is popular among children and women, although there are currently only a few dozen players, Tamir notes.

Also, a few soccer players who first played in the Shine River Cup have now joined the team of the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology in Baotou.

Tamir and his colleagues want to help more talented young people become professional players.

"Through the game, we found quite a number of local talented, young people and hope that they can receive better training," he says.

However, resources and the ability to help these young hopefuls are limited.

"Our top priority for now is to keep the annual tournament going," Tamir says.

Xinhua contributed to this story.