An amateur women's football team has reassembled and been playing every Saturday since the beginning of 2023 in Cangzhou, north China's Hebei Province. What makes them look so unique is that all of their players are over 50 years old.

Known as "Cangzhou Women's Football Seniors," the team originates from a city team founded in 1982 for the provincial games.

"Back then, the oldest player was 15 and the youngest 10. We worked very hard and finished the provincial games in seventh," 51-year-old Ma Xiuzu recalled during an interview with Xinhua News Agency. After that, the players returned to their schools and lost contact with one another in the years that followed.

In July 2022, some of the team members had a reunion before several suggested that they get the team back together. It took them months and a lot of effort to build a 19-member team that played on a local football pitch regularly.

"Playing football when I was a child taught me not to give up and fight relentlessly when faced with difficulties," Ma Ya, 54, said. She is glad that her family supports her. "Sometimes my husband comes to watch me play along with our three-year-old grandson," she added.

"We don't have the strength, speed or power of younger years anymore and keep reminding each other to avoid injury while playing. "We've wanted to play for too long," grinned Xiao Rongzhi, who is both the team's captain and the oldest player.

These veterans are goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and strikers on the field, playing integral roles for their team, as well as wives, mothers, daughters, general managers and directors off the field, playing irreplaceable roles in their families and businesses.