ONE OUTSIDE: What does football mean to you?

Lihao Liu: Football is the most important part of my life. I wanted to become a professional when I was little out of love, longing, and dream. When I became a professional player, I wanted to win the national champion. When I won the national champion, I wanted to win the international champion. After I had retired, I thought my dream would never achieve. But a sudden chance made me realize that I could combine two of my dreams together. I could achieve my dream from the back of the stage and in front. There is a sense of mission; you would feel that my experience as a football player is meaningful. These are inheritance, mission, and responsibility.

ONE OUTSIDE: We heard that you retired early because you donated blood. That caused your professional career ended early. What do you think when you look back now?

Lihao Liu: I keep comforting myself that the blood I donated saved one person’s life. It happened because the good thing would happen. If I hadn’t retire early; I couldn’t start my KT football business. But I think the things I do now can bring more positive and important meaning to the development of Chinese football. This is my luck. 

ONE OUTSIDE: Why did you choose to continue your football career?

Lihao Liu: I didn’t choose it at first. I opened ice cream dessert shop, group buying website. Then I started football career. My dream is becoming an entrepreneur with a sense of social responsibility. During the lessons in business school, I learned the that we should combine what we good with what we love. After a long period of thinking, I found that my favorite is football and that is what I am good at. So I combined it with all kinds of my hobbies such as the internet, business, technology, trend, comic, street culture and created KT football. I combined my two dreams together, so I am happy.  

ONE OUTSIDE： 从女足国脚到足球品牌CEO，你所领悟到的足球精神有怎样的变化呢？它给你的人生带来了什么帮助？

刘力豪：没有变化，足球场上的坚持坚韧，团队配合，战略战术，勤奋努力，在创业中依然适用；因为曾经是职业球员的关系，我觉得会比一般人承受压力能力更强，人家都说创业很辛苦，因为曾经是运动员的关系，我觉得还好啦，一个是体力，一个是脑力，但都需要持之以恒的付出和坚持；运动员意志力都比较坚定吧，不知道什么叫放弃和失败，哈哈。

ONE OUTSIDE: From a former Chinese Woman's Soccer Team member to the CEO of a football brand, has the football spirit you understand changed? How does it help your life?

Lihao Liu: It hasn’t changed. The insistence, teamwork, strategy and hard work from the football court still apply in a start-up business. Maybe because I was a professional football player, I could handle pressure better than normal people. People say that starting up a business is difficult, but because I was an athlete, so I feel it is fine. You need to invest physical power and brain power constantly and insist. Probably the willpower of athletes are stronger; we don't know what is give up or lose. HAHA.

ONE OUTSIDE: What do you think of the Chinese Woman's Soccer Team( and normal women or girls)’s condition now?

Lihao Liu: The present circumstance of Chinese sports industry is great. It is a great opportunity for the friends in this industry. So they should take the time as athletes seriously, learn and gather as much social knowledge and skills as possible. Otherwise, they need more efforts when they retire and transform. I think it is the same for the normal girls. You need to know who you are. What do you need? What do you want? Why? You should figure these question out and become a better self each day. This is the Stylish Person we promote in our company. You can light up the path to your dream when you are the light.

 

ONE OUTSIDE: What is the different between KT football and other football education and enlightenment ways?

Lihao Liu: Because of the experiences I had in the past 18 years as an athlete, I understand football business very much. KT football breaks all the limitation of traditional football which are time, space and people. KT football can let you play whenever and wherever you are.Your football pitch is where you are. We try to pass a free and creative spirit through this. According to the rules of KT, you can win even when you are losing. This is the best explanation of insistence. We use reality online game to make the teenagers fight in the real world. We use the comics they love to teach football at the same time. We hope that football becomes more entertaining and attractive. Our start point to redesign our products and our service is to make more teenagers love this sport. Not the old-fashion spoon-feeding style education.

ONE OUTSIDE: Why do you want to use comics to help children studying football?

Lihao Liu: I used to love comics when I was a child. I believe all children love it. So why don’t we use the way they love to teach them? Teaching is not infusing the knowledge to them; it should be leading and innovating. I believe the children would be better in this way. I want to be the companion of the children, like a friend, not high above them.

 

ONE OUTSIDE: We heard that you stared the 2026 football charity plan. Can you introduce to us?

Answer: The aim of 2026 plan is to make 50 million football lovers and create 100 thousand football related job position. And make China the first nation of football. The reason we started this plan is that if the Chinese football wants to develop healthily, we need to solve the core issue which is we need more teenagers and people as the foundation. The taller the building, the thicker the building’s foundation is. It is really easy to understand. It is not that I am better than you, then I am better. We need to see the development and the position of the Chinese football from the international point of view. We want more teenagers to love football and play football more conveniently. What we want is not a slogan, we want a result. We hope the Chinese football will be balanced through 2026 plan. We want the schools without funds can enjoy the happiness of football equally. And let companies, the government, media and social power join us. We believe that the dream of the Chinese football is not only the dream of President Xi and friends of the football industry. It is the dream of Chinese. So the 2026 plan can gather the power of the Chinese through the football dream and create cohesion and balance.

ONE OUTSIDE: What is your hope and wish for the KT football.

Answer: We hope that KT football will be in the Olympics. We have 53 national invention patents. We hope that people around the world can play KT football. The Chinese football in the past was frustrating. KT football is called the modern Cuju. The football originated from China; we hope Chinese team can join international competitions and become something we can be proud of. Returning to the origin, and played around the world. We also hope to create a free working style and attitude. We can meet friends with football and travel around the world.

 

ONE OUTSIDE: What do success and happiness look like in your imagination?

Answer: Right now.

 

Lihao Liu

She was the Star of Rose, captain of Chinese teenager football team, a Chinese Woman's Soccer Team player. She is honored as the player with the best physic condition in the Chinese Woman's Soccer Team.