Our History

In 2006, Inter-United began traveling to the Yunnan Province in China to bring friendship to the nations through our love of soccer and music.

It began with 20 iU Club members - including iU Soccer Club trainers and players - who traveled to China during their Christmas break with the goal of taking their love of soccer around the world. Music was also a pivotal part of the trip. A group from the 2006 team formed the iU band – performing nightly concerts in schools, universities, & village centers across Yunnan.

During the first trip, the iU band put on a Christmas show for the city of Funing and its local schools. Thousands of locals showed up to celebrate and share their own performances. Two cultures came together to celebrate new friendships that night - a dream come true for the Inter-United community.

Before leaving, Inter-United and Honghe University signed an agreement to continue their relationship by bringing 10 of the University’s teachers and players to the U.S. for a three-week exchange in the summer of 2007. Many of the players who traveled during this exchange are still friends and partners with iU today. You can meet Dan here.

Since this first exchange, Inter-United has continued to facilitate cultural exchange programs with Honghe University and our friends at local schools & colleges throughout the Yunnan Province.

We’ve hosted soccer players, athletic directors, dancers, a director of foreign affairs and collegiate leaders, work-study students, small business owners, and exchange students.

Following the first tour in 2006, Inter-United and the iU band have carried out five tours in the Yunnan Province. Our most recent tour was in December 2014. Over 20 members of the Inter-United community traveled together bringing music filled with hope and encouragement to village schools and orphanages. We had the privilege of handing out clothes, shoes, and other supplies while spending time loving on our friends throughout seven different cities. 

In the summer of 2018, 13 more exchange students experienced an immersive English course by staying with local families in our central Florida community for two weeks. To put what they learned daily into practice, the students participated in a myriad of central Florida novelties and put their English into use through trips to Publix, Target, Saint Augustine, Chick-fil-a, Daytona Beach, Orlando Science Center, and of course, Disney.

To continue this exchange, iU sent a team of 6 to Baoshan, China in the summer of 2019. There, they taught English at a camp hosted by Mover English, an English school led by a previous exchange student to iU, to over 100 students.

Our lifelong friendships in China have not halted after the pandemic.