STORY: British football teacher impressed by development of China's Village Super League
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Jan. 2, 2025
LENGTH: 00:02:21
LOCATION: GUIYANG, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY/SPORTS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of David working at School of Physical Education, Guizhou University
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): DAVID GEARY, Teacher, School of Physical Education, Guizhou University
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DAVID GEARY, Teacher, School of Physical Education, Guizhou University
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): DAVID GEARY, Teacher, School of Physical Education, Guizhou University
5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): DAVID GEARY, Teacher, School of Physical Education, Guizhou University
6. various of China's Village Super League

STORYLINE:

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): DAVID GEARY, Teacher, School of Physical Education, Guizhou University
"It was very good to get into Guizhou University and be a teacher. I want to stay as long as possible."

31-year-old David Geary trains the football team of Guizhou University.
He had lived in Guizhou for several years at a young age.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DAVID GEARY, Teacher, School of Physical Education, Guizhou University
"I first came to China when I was a few months old, so I was still a baby. My parents went to Beijing first for 2 years to learn Chinese and then they moved here to Guizhou. And then I lived in Guizhou until I was 14 years old when we moved back to the UK."

David's love for football and Guizhou made him return to China.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): DAVID GEARY, Teacher, School of Physical Education, Guizhou University
"I think my love for football comes from my father because when I was younger, he also used to play football when we lived here in Guiyang. I wanted to come back to Guiyang because this is where I grew up. China has given me a lot. Guizhou has given me a lot. Guizhou University has given me a lot. So I want to come back and try and give something back."

Calling Guizhou's Rongjiang, the birthplace of China's Village Super League, the "second hometown," David was impressed by its tremendous development over the years.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): DAVID GEARY, Teacher, School of Physical Education, Guizhou University
"We used to go to Rongjiang every year and it used to take like 16 hours by bus. Now it takes 1 hour by train. For me, that's the biggest change and the biggest development. The Village Super League is good. I was very happy to see the Village Super League and how big it became. Because Rongjiang is also like my second hometown. The football standard is okay, it's not the main thing. It's nice to see people playing football, it's nice to cheer on your village. But I think the most important thing, the most attractive thing is the vibes and the cultural mix of different minority cultural events. I'm also proud to be a part of it, proud to be someone from Rongjiang. I hope Rongjiang gets better and better in the future. The Village Super League, I hope so. I hope there are some young players that will come up and come through the Super League and maybe go professional. That would be very nice."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Guiyang, China.
(XHTV)