Zhu Qin （back center）, the deputy director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of European Affairs; Jin Zhiyang (back 3rd from right), a Chinese football coach; and the members of the Beijing Old Boys Football Club, the winners of the 2016 Sino-Nordic Cup Photo: Global Times

The 2nd Sino-Nordic Cup Football Tournament took place on the football field of the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) on May 28. The Beijing Old Boys Football Club won the first place, followed by the Chinese Football Association and the BLCU team respectively.

The tournament is jointly organized by the Department of European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Global Times under the theme of building friendships through football and boosting the friendly interaction between China and the Nordic countries. The first staging was in September 2015. Since then, the initiative has gained support from many large companies, including Geely, Volvo, Double Happiness, Maersk, Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation, and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

A five on five knockout game, this 2016 tournament saw a significant increase in player diversity and the number of teams. Twelve teams comprising about 300 players, including women, participated in the competition.

The embassies of the five Nordic countries - Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Finland, and Sweden, all formed their teams. Also, the Department of European Affairs of MFA, Chinese Media United, Chinese Football Association, BLCU, Beijing Geely University, Beijing Sport University and Beijing Old Boys Football Club also participated in the game with their representative teams.

About 1,000 spectators attended the event. Liu Haixing, the assistant minister of MFA, Zhu Qin, the deputy director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of European Affairs, ambassadors of the five Nordic countries to China, Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Global Times, and Jin Zhiyang, a famous Chinese football coach, attended the opening ceremony of the tournament.

Speaking during the ceremony, Liu said sports play a vital role in state-to-state relations and that in Nordic countries, football is very popular.

"Football is one of the most popular sports in China. The development of football has been part of the national strategy. We hope that through today's tournament, we can deepen our friendship and mutual understanding," Liu said.

Liu also commended the Icelandic team for making it to the finals of the European Cup. "I wish you great success in the competition," said Liu.

This year is the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Iceland. Speaking on behalf of the ambassadors of the Nordic countries, the Icelandic Ambassador to China Stefán Skjaldarson said that the Nordic countries and China enjoy a long history of good and productive relations, and the tournament serves to maintain the ties.

"This initiative by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to arrange this tournament is to strengthen the informal contacts between China and the Nordic countries and in particular between the Nordic embassies and our colleagues at MFA," said Skjaldarson.

Hu said it has been over 30 years since he last played football, and said he believes football is a sport that brings people youth and happiness.

"I can see that there are so many teams that are made of universities and young diplomats; usually diplomats have to wear suits and ties, but today, they can be casual and enjoy themselves on the football field," he said.

Apart from the game, there were also many interactive elements for the younger spectators. Children could enjoy themselves in a bouncy castle, in the handicraft zone or learn some basic football skills.