World at Your Feet (TV series)

World at Your Feet
Genre	Football
Written by	Lau Ching Poon 刘清盆
Directed by	Wong Foong Hwee 黄芬菲
Starring	Ha Yu Tay Ping Hui Elvin Ng Jeanette Aw Zhang Zhenhuan Vivian Lai Zheng Geping Aileen Tan Brandon Wong Yvonne Lim Dennis Chew Xu Bin Ian Fang
Opening theme	《逐梦》 by Power Station
Ending theme	《把我的悲伤留给自己》 by Bobby Chen 陈升 "Easy to Say" by Beatbox music
Country of origin	Singapore
Original language	Mandarin
No. of episodes	30 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Paul Yuen 袁树伟
Producer	Winnie Wong 王尤红
Cinematography	Tommy Lee 李兴顺
Running time	approx. 45 minutes
Original release
Network	MediaCorp Channel 8
Release	14 May – 24 June 2014

World at Your Feet (球在你脚下) is a Singapore MediaCorp Channel 8 television series produced in 2014, which premiered on 14 May 2014. It revolves around the theme of soccer, as a lead-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup held at Brazil. It is the first Singaporean television drama to feature a cast of Hong Kong TVB actors and The Lion Men breakout stars. It is also the sixth series where News Tonight commentaries are not announced.

Plot

Mei Renxin (Ha Yu) is a weirdo who is withdrawn. He does not get along well with people and is unapproachable.

Renxin’s anti-social behaviour is a result of an incident some years ago. His wife fainted on the road but nobody went to her aid. She died tragically and in bitterness after missing the window period to revive her.

Renxin was a celebrated soccer coach well known for his game strategies back then. However, the sudden death of his wife caused him much guilt. He could not forgive himself for neglecting and shortchanging her. Thereafter, he sank into oblivion and kept a distance from the sports arena.

The Mei family lives next door to the Mo family. The two families are separated by a thin wall.

The two neighbours are on bad terms as Renxin is unapproachable. He had several brushes with Mo Lihua (Vivian Lai), the second sister in the Mo family, over some petty matters. It came to the point where their neighbourly ties were soured. The feuding resulted in the enmity between the Mei and Mo families.

In his youth, Hong Canghai (Tay Ping Hui) was high-spirited and a name to be reckoned with in soccer. His tricky “random kick” was a delight to watch. His forte was the penalty kick where he could send the ball to any point and even kick it straight into the goal. As his wife Zheng Yongyi (Yvonne Lim) cannot get along with his mother, Canghai has no choice but to move out. This leads to his younger brother, Hong Dehai (Ian Fang), resenting him for abandoning their mother over a woman. They became estranged. Canghai has always been someone who values friendship. He never turns down anyone’s request to borrow money from him. As a result of that, his wife is very unhappy with him. Seeing that he has achieved nothing, his career-minded wife decides to leave him. The couple have two sons, Hong Qianfeng (Ivan Lo) and Hong Houwei (Tan Junsheng), aged 12 and 10 respectively. After the separation, Yongyi gains custody of the two children. Canghai and his children are miserable over their situation. Canghai refuses to give up. He will do anything to bring his broken family back together again.

Wu Weixiong (Elvin Ng), a professional soccer player, falls in love with Mo Yuqing (Jeanette Aw) at first sight. However, because Weixiong has an eye disease, he carries on an ambiguous relationship with Yuqing. Later, his role in an assault case discourages him from accepting Yuqing’s love as he has made up his mind to turn himself in. However, Yuqing is adamant that Weixiong is avoiding her for reasons he will not disclose. In the end, he is forced to hit Yuqing to drive her away.

Eversince Lihua met Canghai, she is captivated by his manliness, and love for his children. She rents a room to Canghai in the hope of capturing his heart. Unfortunately for her, Canghai rejects her love as he still loves his wife.

After his release from jail, Weixiong’s eye disease worsens and he avoids people by living on his own. One day, Yuqing chances to meet Weixiong, who is a guide of “Dialogue in Darkness” Experiential Walk. She finds out the truth and decides to help Weixiong brace up and make a comeback. But Yuqing, who has accepted Gao Guotian’s (Zhang Zhenhuan) love, is in a dilemma now.

Although Guotian is a gifted soccer player, he faces objections from Gao Shou (Zheng Geping) over a soccer career. Gao Shou is his paternal uncle who has raised him.

Guotian and Weixiong are good friends. One day, both of them got into a drunken stupor. Guotian injured someone in his bid to save him. To protect himself, he bribes the witness, Ann (Silver Ang), to frame the miserable Weixiong. Weixiong, who is in the dark, chooses to turn himself in. Guotian pleads with him against doing so, yet is afraid to tell him the truth. He feels distressed.

Guotian is in love with Yuqing and stands by her. His constant encouragement and assistance finally moves Yuqing into accepting his love. However, Guotian is perfectly aware that their relationship rests on a time bomb that will go off anytime…

Gao Shou, too, was a professional soccer player when he was young. He gave up his dream for the sake of his career, and became a successful businessman. Ye Laixiang (Aileen Tan) was a waitress but worked very hard to get close to Gao Shou to become his assistant. Although she knows that he is married with Qifang (Chen Huihui), she continues to have feelings for him. It leads to a hopeless relationship with no end in sight, but gives a boost to her relationship with Renxin.

Mo Shijing (Brandon Wong), the eldest son of the Mo family, has incredible arm strength. Unfortunately, he is a bum addicted to gambling. He and Lan Yangyang (Dennis Chew), Renxin’s brother-in-law, are colleagues in a warehouse. In his youth, he fathered an illegitimate son, Liao Huancong (Xu Bin), without knowing it. He thought that the other party, Xiuhe, had the child with another man. It was only after Xiuhe revealed the truth on her deathbed that he came to his senses. Henceforth, he turned over a new leaf for Huancong.

Yangyang is Renxin’s brother-in-law. He is languid by nature and does everything by foot instead of using his hands. This turns out to be a boon because it actually trains him to develop a set of skills using his feet. Yangyang, a former columnist, is a man of emotions. He falls for Yuqing but after being spurned by her, turns his attention to her elder sister, Lihua, creating some funny episodes in the process.

Wang Jiannan (Tak Gor) is the teammate of Canghai, Weixiong and Guotian. He requires a huge sum of money for medical treatment for his younger sister who is suffering from a serious illness.

This bunch of desperate people with a common passion for soccer decide to participate in a street soccer tournament that comes with a generous prize. But they are thrashed soundly in their first match. At the critical juncture, Renxin finally shows his prowess. Only then does everyone know that he is someone to be reckoned with. Thereafter, under Renxin’s coaching, the team surprisingly scores a victory and goes on to win match after match.

Meanwhile, Dehai, Huancong, Fang Yangming (Aloysius Pang) and a few other young men form “Peaks Team” so that Renxin’s “Fire Team” cannot steal the limelight. This group of boys whose future seems uncertain are not exactly enthusiastic initially about participating in the tournament. Later, with encouragement from Yangming, who is afflicted with an incurable illness, they decide to take the tournament seriously in order to score a personal triumph as the boys feel that they have never won any prizes in their lives before.

And so the battle begins. The “Fire Team” of men past their prime and the “Peaks Team” of young men vie for the trophy. The two teams start out as rivals who are uncompromising but end up as friends who appreciate one other. The situation is certainly one of “The ball is in your court” and “Life is how you deal with it”. Faced with a common enemy subsequently, the Mei and Mo families discard their animosity to join hands in forming the “Brave Lions Team” to defeat the mighty Hong Kong team.

Renxin is the captain of the Singapore team. Whether this group of people will turn their lives around and make a comeback or not, one can only hear him shouting fervently on the sideline: “Don’t give up! The world is at your feet!”

Cast

Main Cast

Cast	Role	Description	Episodes appeared
Ha Yu	Mei Renxin 梅仁信	Lan Yangyang's brother-in-law Gao Shou's rival in love Mo Lihua's arch-enemy Neighbours of the Mo family Likes Ye Laixiang	1-2, 4, 17, 19
Tay Ping Hui	Hong Canghai 洪沧海	Hong Dehai's elder brother Zheng Yongyi's ex-husband Hong Qianfeng and Hong Houwei's father Li Daoqiang's frenemy, but became best friends later on In love with Zheng Yongyi	1-2, 4, 17, 19
Elvin Ng	Wu Weixiong 吴伟雄	Wu Shengda's son Mo Yuqing's ex-boyfriend Gao Guotian's rival in love Currently serving his 10 months of sentence in the jail In love with Mo Yuqing	1-2, 4
Jeanette Aw	Mo Yuqing 莫雨晴	Mo Guojia's youngest daughter Mo Shijing and Mo Lihua's younger sister Wu Weixiong's ex-girlfriend Gao Guotian's love interest Neighbours of the Mei family In love with Wu Weixiong	1-2, 4, 17, 19
Zhang Zhenhuan	Gao Guotian 高过天	Gao Shou and Qifang's nephew Wu Weixiong's rival in love In love with Mo Yuqing	1-2, 4, 17, 19
Vivian Lai	Mo Lihua 莫丽花	Mo Guojia's eldest daughter Mo Shijing's younger sister Mo Yuqing's elder sister Lan Yangyang's love interest Mei Renxin's arch-enemy Neighbours of the Mei family	1-2, 4, 17, 19
Zheng Geping	Gao Shou 高首	Qifang's husband Gao Guotian's paternal uncle Ye Laixiang's ex-lover Mei Renxin's rival in love In love with Ye Laixiang	1
Aileen Tan	Ye Laixiang 叶来香	Ye Xiaofeng's elder sister Gao Shou's ex-lover and former personal assistant Qifang's rival in love In love with Gao Shou	4
Brandon Wong	Mo Shijing 莫世敬	Mo Guojia's eldest son Mo Lihua and Mo Yuqing's elder brother Liao Huancong's father Lan Yangyang's frenemy Neighbours of the Mei family	1-2, 4, 17, 19
Yvonne Lim	Zheng Yongyi 郑永仪	Hong Canghai's ex-wife Hong Qianfeng and Hong Houwei's mother	2, 4, 17, 19
Dennis Chew	Lan Yangyang 蓝阳阳	Mei Renxin’s brother-in-law Mo Shijing's frenemy Neighbours of the Mo family Likes Mo Lihua Likes Mo Yuqing previously	1-2, 4, 17, 19
Xu Bin	Liao Huancong 廖焕聪	Mo Shijing's son Hong Dehai and Fang Yangming's frenemy Likes Ye Xiaofeng	1
Ian Fang	Hong Dehai 洪德海	Hong Canghai's younger brother Fang Yangming's best friend Liao Huancong's frenemy Li Siqiang's ex-boyfriend In love with Ye Xiaofeng	1-2, 17
Kimberly Chia	Ye Xiaofeng 叶晓枫	Ye Laixiang’s younger sister Li Siqiang's ex-best friend In love with Hong Dehai	17
Aloysius Pang	Fang Yangming 方扬名	Hong Dehai's best friend Liao Huancong's frenemy	1-2
Chantelle Ng	Li Siqiang 李思蔷	Hong Dehai's ex-girlfriend Ye Xiaofeng’s ex-best friend In love with Hong Dehai	1, 4, 17
Tak Gor	Wang Jiannan 王建南	Hong Canghai, Wu Weixiong and Gao Guotian's best friend Has a sister that is hospitalised with kidney problems	1-2, 17, 19
Kwok Keung Cheung	Li Daoqiang 李道强	Hong Canghai's frenemy, but became best friends later on Team member of a Hongkong football team Celebrity football player Returned to Hong Kong	1, 4
Richard Low	Wu Shengda 吴升达	Wu Weixiong's father	19

Supporting Cast

Cast	Role	Description	Episodes appeared
Jeremy Chan	Alex Lim	Team member of the Black Panther football team	1-2, 17, 19
Zhang Wei	Mo Guojia 莫国佳	Mo Shijing, Mo Lihua and Mo Yuqing's father Neighbours of the Mei family	1-2, 17, 19
Wang Yuqing	Huang Furen 黄富仁	Ex manager of Hong Canghai's football team	1-2
Chen Hui Hui	Qifang 琦芳	Gao Shou's wife Gao Guotian's auntie Ye Laixiang's rival in love	1-2, 17
Silver Ang	Ann	Hong Canghai's colleague Likes Gao Guotian A witness of the fight that took place between Gao Guotian and a guy that attempts to molest her which caused the guy to fell into a coma, but she framed Wu Weixiong of hitting the guy which led him to turn himself in and went to jail.	4, 17, 19
Tan Junsheng	Hong Houwei 洪厚卫	Hong Canghai and Zheng Yongyi's youngest son Devastated when heard his parents were divorcing and were moving out	1-2, 17, 19
Ivan Lo	Hong Qianfeng 洪前锋	Hong Canghai and Zheng Yongyi's eldest son Devastated when heard his parents were divorcing and were moving out	1-2, 17, 19

Special appearances

Cast	Role	Description	Episodes appeared
Tosh Zhang	Ah Wei 阿威	Alex's helper that works for his father	1
Wang Weiliang	Ah Liang 阿良	Alex's helper that works for his father	1
Maxi Lim	Jiang Shui 江水	Alex's helper that works for his father	1
Noah Yap	Guang Huo 广火	Alex's helper that works for his father	1
Charlie Goh	Cheng Jin 成金	Alex's helper that works for his father	1

See also

• List of World at Your Feet episodes
• List of MediaCorp Channel 8 Chinese Drama Series (2010s)