Never Walk Alone

Never Walk Alone (2026)

Drama

On the grasslands of Huocheng, Ili, Xinjiang, nine-year-old Uyghur boy Aire loves football deeply, but his father strictly bans him from playing. Twenty years ago, a match injury cut short the father’s football career, and he has regarded football as “a devil that destroys lives” ever since. When herding sheep, Aire sneaks in football practice and loses a sheep by accident. Finding out the village five-a-side football championship prize is a sheep, he plans to build a team, win the title and hide his fault. Aire puts together a multi-ethnic ragtag team and persuades retired coach Mijit to coach them. Unbeknownst to him, Mijit is the source of his father’s old grudge. In training and games, the kids learn trust, and old rifts between father and son, mentor and apprentice start to mend. Football finally shows them: in family ties, mentorship and companionship, we never walk alone.

Director: Zhang Shitao

Casts

	Alimjian Tursunbek as
	Akbar Yahefu as
	Wei Na as
	Parman Parhat as
	Yu Rongguang as
	Hurxida Turdi as
	Guo Yue as
	Barna Parhat as

Crew