"Six years ago, a member of our team who was seriously ill, asked his family to take him to the soccer pitch, the favorite place of his life. He passed away days later," Yao said.

Wang Minghao, 83, one of the team's midfielders, is the oldest player and has been in the team for more than 20 years.

Starting to play at age 9, he kept it up for over 70 years. Now, every week, he joins in the team training for two hours. "Playing soccer makes me feel good," he said. "Medical examinations show I'm in good health."

The team is planning to enter the 30th National Friendly Cities Middle-Aged and Senior Soccer Match to be held in Qingdao, Shandong province in May. It was put off last year because of the pandemic.

"The results don't matter," Yao said. "We will keep playing as long as our health allows us to."