The 2026 Guangdong City Football Super League (Yuechao) will kick off on April 25th, with the regular season running through late July, the knockout stage starting in late August, and the finals taking place in late October. Yuechao is a truly grassroots football event deeply rooted in local communities. A total of 826 players from 21 city-level teams across the province have registered to compete. None of them hold professional player registration with the Chinese Football Association. They are ordinary football enthusiasts from all walks of life, brought together by their shared passion for the sport and ready to fight for the honor of their hometowns.

The match schedule is designed with practical considerations in mind, helping boost cultural tourism consumption and the holiday economy. The league spans several major holidays, including Labor Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day. The integration of sports events and cultural tourism is expected to bring a steady flow of visitors to host cities, driving coordinated growth in related sectors such as accommodation, catering, and transportation. It also helps diversify the holiday economy beyond traditional tourism by forming a complete cycle of "watching matches, sightseeing, and spending". At the same time, the league serves as a platform to promote resource sharing and complementary advantages among regions, injecting momentum into coordinated development across the province.

The Yuechao stage will also feature a matchup between renowned coaches with national team experience and emerging young managers. The coaching staff of the 21 teams includes well-known national-level coaches, those with extensive professional league experience, as well as young coaches who have risen from grassroots football.

粤超四大亮点精彩纷呈，打造草根足球盛宴

广东省城市足球超级联赛（粤超）自4月25日揭幕，常规赛在7月底结束，淘汰赛将在8月下旬开始，冠亚军决赛在10月底进行。粤超堪称真正扎根于民间的群众足球盛会。全省21支地市代表队共计有826名球员报名参赛，所有球员均无中国足协职业球员注册记录，他们是来自各行各业的普通足球爱好者，因对足球的共同热爱而集结，也将为家乡的荣誉而奋力拼搏。

赛程安排立足实际，赋能文旅消费和假日经济。据悉，粤超联赛赛程横跨覆盖“五一”、端午、中秋、国庆等多个重要节假日。“赛事+文旅”的深度融合，不仅可为赛事举办地带来源源不断的人流量，带动住宿、餐饮、交通等关联产业的协同发展，让假日经济摆脱单一旅游依赖，形成“观赛-游览-消费”的完整闭环，更以赛事为纽带，推动区域资源共享、优势互补，为全省协调发展注入动力。

粤超赛场也成为“国字号”名帅与年轻少帅的同场比拼。21支代表队的教练组既有“国字号”名帅，也有丰富职业联赛从业经验的职业名将，还有从群众足球赛场崛起的年轻少帅。

文｜记者 柴智 吕航
图｜记者 蔡嘉鸿 张瑞柠
译｜曾敏
英文审校｜柯妃娟