泰州队，“苏超”冠军

Amid deafening cheers from more than 62,000 fans at Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, the final whistle blew on the inaugural season of China's Su Super League, capping an amateur league that has captivated the nation's grassroots sports scene.

In a nerve-wracking penalty shootout that gripped the entire stadium, underdog Taizhou edged Nantong 4-3, handing the previously undefeated team its first and most painful loss of the season.

Drawing playful inspiration from both the English Premier League and the Chinese Super League, the Su Super League has emerged as a local phenomenon – packed with derby rivalries, drama and roaring stadiums.

Tickets for the final had a success rate of just 1.2 percent, while the record crowd of 62,329 set a new benchmark for amateur football events in China.

The impact extends beyond the pitch. According to the provincial department of commerce, since the Su Super League’s kickoff in May, Jiangsu’s major retailers and supermarkets reported 11.64 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in total sales during match periods, up 34.7 percent year on year, while foot traffic rose 31.2 percent.

Tourism also flourished. By the day of the final, host cities welcomed about 24 million visitors to key attractions on match days, a 17.7 percent increase from a year earlier. Out-of-town tourists spent 13.96 billion yuan on cultural and leisure activities via UnionPay transactions, up 26.5 percent year on year.