KUWAIT CITY, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Football matches of the Chinese companies in Kuwait kicked off Friday in Kuwait City, capital of Kuwait, under the auspices of the Association of Chinese Companies in Kuwait.

A total of ten teams, which consist of more than 200 employees from the Chinese companies, including China Petrochemical Corporation, or Sinopec, China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC) and Huawei, will participate in the matches to compete in the next three weeks.

At the opening ceremony, Cheng Yongru, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Kuwait, said that holding the football match on May 4, China's Youth Day, is of great significance.

"China's Youth Day combines patriotism, progress, democracy, and science, which complement the spirit of football," he said, noting that the Chinese enterprises, through the matches, will build consensus, and contribute to the all-round friendly cooperation between China and Kuwait.

Yang Chunsen, president of the Association of Chinese Companies in Kuwait, said that the Association organizes the football matches with an aim to enrich leisure time of employees of the Chinese companies.

"I hope everyone would devote himself to the career development with passion," he noted.

Currently, there are more than 40 Chinese companies in Kuwait with more than 8,000 Chinese employees.