Sun Jihai: Invested ¥30 Million in HiBall Over 2.5 Years, Received ¥3 Million in Donations Within 32 Hours — I Must Live Up to Everyone’s Support

In the past three months, former Chinese football star Sun Jihai has found himself at the center of public discussion over a youth training compensation dispute. Yesterday, he took to social media to post a heartfelt video, opening up about his deep emotional connection to youth football and vowing never to let down the people who believe in him.

Building “HiBall Youth” from the Ground Up

Sun Jihai began by reflecting on the early days of his “HiBall Youth” academy.
“In July 2021, during the summer break, we started with the 2013 age group,” he recalled. “Honestly, the start wasn’t ideal — only nine kids joined at first.”

He emphasized that the academy’s philosophy does not allow young players to become complacent.
“Over the next four years, eight of those nine kids were eliminated. Our elimination rate was high — and it still is, because competitive sports inevitably have a high dropout rate. It’s a reality you can’t avoid.”

Financial Pressures Behind the Scenes

Running the academy, Sun admitted, has been financially demanding.
“By the end of 2023, all the funding had come from my small startup company. I suddenly felt like we were living from hand to mouth — and it made me anxious. So I brought in a third-party auditor to see exactly how much we had spent.”

The results shocked him.
“At two and a half years in, I thought we might have spent around 10 million yuan. The audit showed it was actually 28 million — far beyond what I had imagined.”

Turning to Public Support

Facing this financial strain, Sun decided to seek help through public welfare initiatives.
“At that point, I thought about leveraging the power of the community and charitable foundations. After discussions, we set a fundraising target of 3 million yuan — not 5 or 8 million — because I wanted to continue covering most of the costs myself, with public contributions as a supplement.”

The response was overwhelming.
“In just 32 hours, we reached the 3 million target. I truly felt the depth of everyone’s support, because people could see we were genuinely committed to this cause. Some of the messages I received brought tears to my eyes.”

Words That Touched the Heart

Sun shared one that struck him deeply:
“Someone told me, ‘If I can’t support you in your lowest moments, how could I have the right to cheer for you in your victories?’ When I read that, I got goosebumps all over.”

A Promise to the Future

In closing, Sun made a heartfelt pledge:
“No matter what the outcome is in the future, I cannot and will not let these people down. I will pour my heart into making our youth training program the best it can be.”