JINJIANG – The much-awaited Kelme 2018 AUSF Football Cup kicked off in the Jinjiang Sports Center Stadium with a match between Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) from host nation China and University of Burdwan (BU) from India.
It turned out to be a 4-0 win for the team from Beijing, although after 90 high-octane minutes. Chen Zixuan scored the first goal for BIT, and the following two from Li Sichen put BIT very much in command. Even though there was little doubt about the result by then, Wang Minjie sealed the victory for BIT.
The match marked the start of the Asian University Sports Federation Football Cup that will continue until 10 November 2018. Sixteen men’s teams and seven women’s teams representing universities from various Asian countries and regions have gathered in Jinjiang for this event.
Jinjiang will continue to host the AUSF Football Cup biennially in 2020, 2022 and 2024, and this tournament is also the continental qualifier for the FISU University World Cup Football – whose inaugural edition is slated for 2019. That inaugural and pioneering tournament will also be hosted in Jinjiang, and will continue to be stationed in this Chinese city through the editions in 2021, 2023 and 2025. Clearly, Jinjiang is all set to become an epicenter of university football in the years to come.
For the moment, the festivities have already begun, as the AUSF Football Cup opening ceremony was marked by a traditional Chinese music and dance performance as well as a cheerleading presentation. All matches will be broadcast online and you can watch them here or here.
