A scene from the Tianjin division of the sixth China City Children's Football League. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The sixth China City Children's Football League, organized by the China Football Development Foundation, kicked off on Sunday across 16 divisions nationwide.

The league features five-on-a-side soccer matches for mixed-gender U8 and U9 groups, and eight-on-a-side matches for boys U10, U11 and U12 groups.

The event will run through Dec 31 in multiple cities, including Tianjin, Shanghai, Dalian in Liaoning province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Luoyang in Henan province, and Ganzhou in Jiangxi province.

In the Tianjin division, former professional player Du Ruilan, now a youth coach with the Jinlongfeng Football Club, said both of her sons are participating in this year's league alongside her mixed-gender team.

"This is our first time joining the foundation's league. The organizers have done a terrific job creating such a vibrant atmosphere and maintaining excellent pitches," Du said.

"These competitive opportunities are invaluable for children's development."

Since its inception in 2018, the league has expanded to over 30 cities with more than 60,000 participants from 6,000 teams.

This year's edition will implement a double-round robin system with a minimum of 18 rounds per division. Each division expects at least 10 teams per category, totaling over 60 teams nationwide and more than 480 matches. Projected participation exceeds 10,000 young players.

Growing from 10 divisions in its inaugural season to 16 this year, the league continues to leverage city-based platforms to promote soccer culture. By creating accessible competitions, it aims to boost youth engagement, enhance training quality in host cities, and identify future soccer talents.

The "weekly matches, daily training" model during the event will further strengthen grassroots soccer development nationwide.