All eyes on Zibo for youth showcase

AFC – Zibo, China: Zibo, the officially recognised birth-place of football, plays host to the continent’s premier youth showcase from Sunday, bringing together the 16 best Asian youth teams in the AFC U-19 Championship 2010.

Though contemporary football began in England in the early 1800s, this Chinese city, which is the capital of Shandong province, has been officially recognised by FIFA as the original birthplace of the game.

In recent years, Zibo has become a torchbearer for Chinese city football after embracing AFC’s pathbreaking Vision Asia project. The city has two of the best stadiums in the country in the Zibo Sports Complex and the Linzi Stadium.

The new 45,000 capacity Zibo Sports Complex Stadium, which also houses a 6,000-seat comprehensive gymnasium and 2,000-seat natatorium, will host the opening and the final match, besides all the Group A and C fixtures, two quarter-finals and a semi-final.

An average of 22,000 spectators watched China qualify from Group G at the Zibo Sports Centre Stadium in November last year. The hosts won all their five games to top the group.

The stadium also hosted the football matches in the 11th China National Games last year.

Linzi Stadium, located in Linzi city, will host Group B and D matches apart from two quarter-finals and a semi-final.

The 14,000-capacity stadium was renovated for the AFC U-19 Championship and will serve as a secondary venue.