Girls left behind by their migrant worker parents in Southwest China are using their fleet soccer footwork to take steps towards a brighter future and achieving their goals.
Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, 200 kilometers from Chongqing, is near the Three Gorges Dam and nestled between imposing mountains and fast-flowing rivers. The region is ethnically diverse, with 29 minorities sharing the dramatic landscape, but is economically underdeveloped.
This has led to most of the villagers of working age moving away to become migrant workers and leaving their offspring - mostly girls - behind, which can make life hard for these so-called "leftover children."
Three years ago, an elementary school headmaster in Sanhe village named Sun Xiaoming decided to give the children something to fill their time. He organized a football team to help his students to "study well and live happily." Most of the players are girls.
Few Chinese parents are eager for their children to take up sports, as they fear injury and prefer their children to focus purely on their academic studies. But Sun believed that he could link football, with its fancy steps, to local dance traditions and win people over.
One by one Sun persuaded families to allow their girls to play "the beautiful game."
Ma Lingqiao is one of his star players. It was hard to persuade her family as they didn't see the point of letting her play. "We are striving to make a living away from home, saving little money. We want her to study and get a decent job. Not play football," Ma's mother told reporters.
But Sun was able to point to Lu Juhua, one of his football players that was given a place in an urban school in Chongqing based on her sporting skills. This education might put her on a path to a more prosperous urban life. This is the dream for many of Sun's players.
"I know Messi and Ronaldo, but I haven't seen them play football," Ma said, as her family cannot afford cable TV and sports channels. After three years of training, Sun's team was ready to compete.
In November, the village team beat a Chongqing city club that has a decades-long football tradition.
