by Sportswriter Huang Haoran
NANCHANG, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The 2026 Jiangxi City Football Super League, better known as the "Gan Super League," returned on International Workers' Day, positioning itself as a place to foster young talents.
This season's new U18 policy requires each of the 11 city teams must now register at least five under-18 players in their 50-man squad, with a minimum of three in the 23-player matchday roster, and keep at least one U18 player on the pitch at all times.
"This policy is designed to extend the Gan Super League influence to the younger generation and provide more opportunities for youth players to develop," said Liu Gang, an official of the Jiangxi Provincial Sports Bureau.
The league's 484 registered players have an average age of just 22.1, with over 42 percent aged 20 or younger. Organizers say the reform is intended to shift the competition from pure entertainment toward becoming a genuine talent pipeline for local football.
While young players dominate the pitch, the opening ceremony struck a timeless chord on Friday night. In one of the night's most dramatic moments, more than 60,000 spectators rose to recite in unison the "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng," a classic prose piece written over 1,300 years ago by Tang Dynasty literary giant Wang Bo, who composed it in Nanchang on the banks of the Gan River.
The recitation fused the city's ancient cultural roots with the raw energy of grassroots sport. An AI-generated short film also depicted Wang Bo "kicking start" the match, sending a football soaring past the city's bridges and Ferris Wheel before landing at the stadium.
During the opening ceremony, images of 200 outstanding workers from across Jiangxi Province appeared on the stadium's giant screen, drawing applause from the crowd.
"They are the heroes in our daily life, whether on or off the field, all the strivers deserve our respect," said Wang Xianmin, vice president of the Jiangxi Football Association.
The league's grassroots character runs deep. Its 11 teams from across the province feature players from all walks of life, including teachers, students and food delivery riders.
Xia Weiyi, a forward for the Nanchang team, has just been admitted to a local university, which allows him to continue playing for his home city this season.
"These players are people we meet in everyday life. When they step onto the pitch and fight for the city, we cheer for them," said Yue Xijian, a football fan of more than 30 years.
The grassroots league has attracted global brands such as Coca-Cola, Huawei and Vivo, but it is the names of local barbecue restaurants, tea brands and agricultural enterprises that occupy the most prominent spots. This season, the league's organizing committee, working with the provincial departments of industry, information technology and agriculture, has selected eight agriculture-related firms and four small and medium-sized enterprises to receive free LED board exposure worth hundreds of thousands of yuan per match.
Among them is Poyang Lake Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd., which manages a 580,000-mu (38,667-hectare) rice-growing base beside China's largest freshwater lake. The company has helped raise the incomes of more than 1,000 farming households. According to a company executive, a single advertising slot at the "Gan Super League" costs several hundred thousand yuan but was offered to them free of charge.
The league has also boosted local consumption. The Nanchang International Sports Center, originally built for the 7th Chinese City Games in 2011, now shifts smoothly between weekend pop concerts and football matches.
Zhang Ma'an, chairman of Nanchang Culture and Sports Development Group, said the concert economy and event economy are reinforcing each other. The venue hosted 40 concerts last year, and since the "Gan Super League" announced its Nanchang home fixtures this year, 37 more concerts have already been booked.
The league's tickets are priced at just 9.9 yuan or 19.9 yuan (about 1.4 to 2.7 U.S. dollars), yet every yuan spent on admission generates 7.3 yuan in local spending. The 2025 season generated overall economic benefits of more than 14 billion yuan. This year, a single match ticket offers half-price entry to 10 5A-rated and 99 4A-rated tourist sites across the province, along with hotel discounts and dining vouchers.
At the 18,000-square-meter night snack market inside the sports center, Yang Juan runs a rice cake stall. "I used to think sports events had little to do with my small stall. Now I know, on a match day, my turnover can double or even triple," she said.
Official figures show that China's sports industry surpassed five trillion yuan in total value in 2025, with policymakers aiming to unlock further growth and push the sector beyond seven trillion yuan by 2030.
"Sports can be a key driver of economic and social development. The 'Gan Super League' is not just a competition, it is a bond linking the passion of football with the vitality of the city," said Li Xiaoping, director of the Jiangxi Provincial Sports Bureau. ■
