Young Chinese players learn from the best at Real Madrid training camps

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02:43

The 2018 World Cup has just concluded, but China’s love for football endures.

The second batch is to be concluded on July 20th. /CGTN photo

Even the 35 degree heat wave in Shanghai could not stop these young footballers from playing the game they love. Over the past five days, 12-year-old Huang Haoming has been training with 15 other kids at the Real Madrid Foundation Campus Experience training site.

The Real Madrid foundation says it is most important to improve their skills as well as some core values about sports. /CGTN Photo

Hunag told CGTN that sometimes they have friendly matches, sometimes they play games. The coaches say playing too much may make them tired of football, so they make sure to keep it friendly.

Teamwork, friendship, cooperation and leadership are among the important values the kids are learning at the camp, said Real Madrid coach Raul Diez Lorenzo to CGTN.

Some parents say it is worth it for their children. /CGTN Photo

The training costs about 6,000 RMB, just shy of 1,000 US dollars. Chen Xinzhi, one of the fathers, said money is not the most important thing, the children’s hobbies and interests really matter. "We hope our son can learn and experience something different from his previous domestic coaches."

Zhu Chaoyun, the Living World Shanghai’s principal assistant told CGTN that every year they have a summer and winter training camp with Real Madrid.

As Real Madrid's first authorized cooperative school in China, Living Word Shanghai has hosted this training camp since 2014. /CGTN photo