Tennial Chu, vice chairman of Mission Hills, poses a photo with players of the national footballgolf team on Tuesday in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China's first national team of footballgolf, including four players, will depart for Argentina next week to participate in an international tournament of the widely heralded new sport.

Players including Ruan Chen, Pi Siwei, Ji Jie and Liu Mengyang, will compete with about 300 counterparts from 30 countries and regions during the World Cup of Footballgolf, which is scheduled in Argentina during January 5-10.

The players were chosen after a nationwide championship for the sport, newly promoted in China last year, at Mission Hills, a resort mainly featuring golf in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

"We are heading for Argentina, with high hopes of winning a trophy, as teams participating in the event are all at the same competitive level," said Ruan, a retired professional soccer player.

To promote the sport in China, Mission Hills has already developed a footballgolf association and opened a professional court for the sport.

According to Tennial Chu, vice chairman of Mission Hills, more golf clubs will join the association and more domestic tournaments will be held next year.

"With a growing number of people joining the sport, we believe that China will develop a strong national squad in the years ahead," said Chu.

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