A shipment of medical supplies was sent from a soccer association in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, to Brooke House College in the United Kingdom on Saturday.

The goods included 500 surgical masks and 3,000 pairs of protective gloves. On the packed boxes was part of a poem from the Tang Dynasty (618-907): "Good friends feel close even when they are thousands of miles apart."

"The amount of material is not large, but many Ningxia soccer players wanted to show our concern for our British friends. We want to extend a helping hand so they can overcome the pandemic as soon as possible," said Wan Yingwei, a staff member of the Ningxia Football Association.

In 2019, a delegation from Brooke House College visited Yinchuan schools and stadiums. The college exchanged views with the association on training for coaches and youth.

"In February, the college invited young soccer players from Ningxia to participate into a training exchange program and discuss further cooperation. Because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the plan had to be suspended," Wan said.

Aware of the severe COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, the Ningxia Football Association decided to take action.