Businessman Buys Football Club Just so He and His 126-Kilogram Son Could Play

A Chinese entrepreneur recently bought a second division football club just so he and his overweight son could play in official matches.

It’s never too late to fulfill your dreams, and having lost of money helps a lot, as He Shihua, a 35-year-old entrepreneur with a passion for football, can tell you. His biggest regret in life has always been not being able to participate in official competitions as a player, but luckily he realized he could do just that by buying his own football club and pressuring the coach to include him in the team. Now, both Shihua and his 126-kilogram-heavy son are part of the team, even though their skills on the pitch aren’t exactly up to par.

He Shihua is the main shareholder of Zibo Cuju Football Club, a team in the Chinese second division (China League One), a club he has apparently been associated with as a player in the past. So you could argue that it’s not that strange for the 35-year-old to reserve the number 10 for himself and even take to the pitch as an attacking forward. But his son is another story…

The young businessman is listed as Zibo Cuju’s main forward, and actually played in a game at the beginning of this month, but this past weekend he took his ambition one step forward, pressuring the coach to include his son in the starting lineup. That wouldn’t have drawn too much attention if his boy had the skills and athletic abilities of a professional footballer, but that’s not the case.

He’s son reportedly weighs 126 kilograms, which isn’t exactly ideal for a football player, and judging by the viral clips of him playing, he’s no Messi on the pitch. Still, his teammates can’t really complain about his passes and positioning; not if they want to keep their jobs, anyway.

He Shihua’s decision to use the club as a ramp for himself and his overweight son has been getting mixed feedback online, with some applauding his boldness and his ambition, and others claiming he is making a mockery of the sport and humiliating the coach and players of Zibo Cuju.

So far, the killer duo hasn’t proven its worth, as Zibo Cuju is last in the league, with only one point from five games.