In addition to the proud satisfaction of helping others through sports and fun, members of the teams taking part in the 2005 Beijing Community Cup will enjoy an extra special treat, the chance to play inside the Workers' Stadium, the home of Chinese football!

The organizers of the 2005 Beijing Community Cup, ClubFootball and the British Chamber of Commerce in China (BCCC), announced they have come to an agreement with Ludinghui, the owner of the 13 artificial turf, 5-a-side pitches that have been newly installed on top of the running track, which previously encompassed the professional playing surface in the stadium.

The Community Cup will be the first major tournament to utilize the venue on May 22, which will be the host for the finale of the 2008 Olympic Games' football tournament, and will double up as the official opening of the new facility.

Understandably all parties are happy to have agreed on the deal, which marks yet another development for Beijing's premier sporting charity fundraiser, which is gaining increased presence and acceptance among the local community.

Keith Bradbury, General Manager of ClubFootball, stated, "We are delighted to have teamed up with Ludinghui to stage the tournament in this top-class facility. We believe it will make the day even more memorable for all those involved from teams and supporters to the benefiting charities and of course our sponsors."

Initiated in 2002, the event was the first of its kind in China to promote people's awareness and participation in charity through the form of a popular sport. It was originally the brainstorming result of people at the Beijing Huiling, a community-based non-governmental service co-founded by Briton Jane Perini and Meng Weina offering social training to people with mental disabilities.

The idea to organize a charity football match was met with great interest and eager response from people all over the capital. A total of 24 company teams from home and foreign countries like the United States, England and Italy took part in the event staged at Beijing Purple Jade Villa.

Growing with the popularity of the event was the difficulty for the people at the Beijing Huiling to manage the event on a track that requires expertise they lacked. As the first joint venture amateur football club in Beijing, ClubFootball took the reigns to carry on the event.

Although there were difficulties, the club was happy to see ardent responses this year. It was joined by different establishments one after another including the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), Octopus Travel, Lotto and Xinhua PR Newswire, which all promised to offer various forms of contributions to the event.

With a remarkable increase in the number of 32 participating teams last year, a total of 48 teams are expected to take part in this year's event to compete in 12 divided groups in the one-day event.

The artificial turf is derived from a UK-based artificial turf (MIE) utilizing Bonar thread and backing, tufted locally in Tianjin. With more facilities planned to follow in the near future the two parties (Ludinghui and ClubFootball) are currently discussing how to widen their cooperation to bring a full range of organized activities to each venue.

People interested in finding out how they can get involved can visit the 2005 Beijing Community Cup website at: www.wanguoqunxing.com or call 6416-7788 ext 17 to learn more.

(China Daily May 13, 2005)