Former England striker Michael Owen delighted Chinese football fans after he took part in a friendly match at the stadium of the amateur Village Super League in southwest Guizhou Province on Thursday.

Owen made the trip to the region to fulfil a promise he made in 2025 after it was hit by floods, when he shared a video expressing sympathy for what had happened and saying he would visit in person one day.

The Village Super League, known as Cun Chao, started as a small, weekly football festival that has morphed into a viral sensation with the help of former players such as Owen, Roberto Baggio, Roberto Carlos and Kaka attending or publicising the event.

When he arrived in the province, Owen experienced Lan Men Jiu (barrier-gate wine), an ancient and grand welcoming ritual of the Miao ethnic group in Guizhou that represents their highest form of hospitality for VIP guests.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid player was then enthusiastically fed local delicacies, including chilli-wrapped rice noodle rolls and Roxburgh rose juice.

“Everyone who steps into Rongjiang will be fed into a ‘heavyweight’ figure by the food. It is the only place in the world where you can watch ‘Cun Chao’ football and be completely stuffed with food and hospitality,” a netizen joked.