Life of Guangzhou - When Everybody is Onside, Footballers Find It's Great Fun

GUANGZHOU: Expat footballers have reason to rejoice following the emergence of a new league catering especially to foreigners living in Guangzhou.

The Guangzhou Football League, a loose association of friends and acquaintances, was conceived at a local expat bar by a group of hardcore football lovers, and is now entering its third year on the pitch. The league's teams are due to start their fourth tournament in just a few of weeks.

The current roster of teams plays each Sunday afternoon between noon and 3 pm at either Baogang or Tianhe stadium.

Snapshot of autumn 2006 party [photos: www.footballgz.com]

The league boasts about a dozen teams, eight of which play regularly, with over 150 players from all around the world, including Europe, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and several Latin American countries, although locals are also welcome to play, making it a truly international competition.

The current roster of teams plays each Sunday afternoon between noon and 3 pm at either Baogang or Tianhe stadium. And while participants happily admit that celebratory beers both before and after the game are common, and that players outnumber spectators at most of their matches, no one seems to mind. The goal, after all, is to have fun.

"We do train quite hard during the week and the games are fairly competitive," said Darren Browne, a long-time player for the Paddy Field FC and a manager of the Paddy Field bar.

"But at the end of the game, we all get together and have a laugh. We all want to win, but the main point is that it is a social activity."

Players from Turkey, Spain and the Republic of Korea agree that while the games are vigorous, everyone enjoys the chance to mix with expats from other countries who they might normally not get to meet.

"Asian and local Chinese players are usually smaller in size, but they make up for it in speed and attacking play," said James O'Dowd, the league's secretary and captain of the Elephant and Castle Blues. "Foreign players are bigger, but we tend to play defensively, so there is a real mix of styles."

New players who want to get in on the action should note a few key differences in the way the game is played in the league. Matches are played on a small Astroturf pitch, about three-quarters the size of a standard football field. As a result, teams are eight-a-side, not the usual 11. Plus, they play with a standard football. For local players used to playing with a smaller ball, this may take some getting used to.

Also absent from the league is any sort of off-side rule, an intriguing modification that ensures spirited play.

These changes have led to the occasional misunderstanding, but, at the end of the day, "the main thing is that we all have fun," said Browne. "We might play hard on the field, but afterwards, it's all forgotten. We go to the bar, have a few beers and become friends again."

(By Steven Chen)