The three towns of Wuhan created the center
national soccer team
Ball professional league record, the past three years respectively won the Chinese B,
soccer league
China Super League (soccer league)
Championship. Pictured in 2022
China Super League (soccer league)
Championship awards ceremony. (ic photo/image)
No one could have imagined that.
China Super League (soccer league)
The winner would be decided by the two teams that dropped out of the tournament.
The last two days of 2022.
China Super League (soccer league)
Starting the final round of the competition, the three towns of Wuhan and the
Shandong Taishan prefecture level city in Shandong
With 75 points, they will compete for the league title. 2004
China Super League (soccer league)
For the ninth time since its inception, the title was decided in the final round. on December 30, the two teams' rivals Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, Beijing
national security
Successive abandonment announcements were made, all for reasons related to insufficient participants.
Subsequently, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, Beijing
national security
Both were condemned to a 0:3 loss, with Wuhan Three Town and
Shandong Taishan prefecture level city in Shandong
The points were tied again, but Wuhan Three Town, on goal difference, won the
China Super League (soccer league)
Championship. This result surprised everyone, the exit swayed the championship to the players, and it was surprising that the first time the players celebrated the victory was off the field.
The three towns of Wuhan created the center
national soccer team
Ball Professional League record, winning the last three years respectively in the second division,
soccer league
China Super League (soccer league)
Championship.
Behind the record-breaking glow comes an unsustainable professional soccer league, where the term unpaid wages has permeated the day-to-day lives of most players for almost the past three seasons. In order for the league to function properly, China
soccer league
Teams are even allowed to "start the game and pay back the money later."
Clubs worried about money are disbanding or quitting professional leagues one after another, including many giants. Take 2020.
China Super League (soccer league)
More than 100 days after the championship, the Jiangsu team was dissolved. According to the Southern Weekend reporter, a total of 31 teams have quit the professional league so far in 2020, including four
China Super League (soccer league)
Teams, 8
soccer league
teams, and 19 C.B. teams.
"You get four or five months' salary in two years."
The last round of the league hasn't been played yet.
China Super League (soccer league)
Hebei players Zhou Xuan has left the tournament, early into the holiday, "perhaps the club to save money, some teammates also went back".2022 December 30, Hebei team ushered in the last game, he watched a moment of live broadcast, the results of the team 0:4 defeated Henan Songshan.
On the phone, Zhou Xuan lamented to the Southern Weekend reporter, "The team did not have the former professionalization, training is not systematic, to play the game on the line."
Behind barely finishing the tournament, the Rivera team has been stuck in a spiral of unpaid wages. "Two years just got four or five months' salary." Zhou Xuan helpless, the first few years of playing football can still subsidize the family, now the return to the team's air ticket money, are asked from parents, social security also from September 2021 broken to now.
Circumstances are not good for teammates either, with some players needing to borrow money to buy high-speed rail tickets to go home, and others unable to pay the mortgage on their homes and facing imminent foreclosure. The team's staff has to wear multiple hats and even act as base security. The team members had pressured the management, "Everyone asked for salary in the group, the general manager directly withdrew from the group." In addition, a number of Hebei team members had been through social media to ask for wages.
Zhou Xuan was last paid in the first half of 2022, making up or 2021 salary. The distant income has affected the players' competitive status to varying degrees. In the past season, Hebei only won 2 games and ended up at the bottom of the table with -3 points, relegated
soccer league
In soccer, a win is worth three points, a draw is worth one point, and a loss is worth zero points. Even a winless game should result in zero points for a team. Hebei's record of -3 points originates from China
soccer league
penalties.2022 In the second half of the year, for failing to settle unpaid wages within the required time frame
soccer league
A total of nine point penalties were handed out to Rivera. Rivera became the only team in 2022 to end the season with negative points.
Year 2022
new season
On the eve of, China
soccer league
relaxation
China Super League (soccer league)
soccer league
In addition, the entry threshold for clubs in the third tier of the Chinese League of Nations and the second tier of the Chinese League of Nations allows teams to "start the game first and pay back the money later".
April 3, 2022, China
soccer league
The release of the notice said that due to the epidemic, the economy and the development of the investor's main business and other aspects of the impact, some of the clubs with the fact of non-payment of wages, after the submission of non-payment of wages to solve the problem, may be the China
soccer league
Conditional granting of access.
As previously stipulated.
new season
Prior to the start of the tournament, teams are required to submit payroll confirmation forms for coaches, players, and staff, with each person signing the form, or they will not be registered.
When the season starts.
soccer league
The unpaid wages will be divided into three stages to oblige clubs to deal with them: 30% by July 31, 2022, 70% by October 31, and all by December 31, 2022. Otherwise, clubs will be penalized with league penalty points, relegation or disqualification from entering the professional league.
November 2022
soccer league
Two announcements were made to penalize nine clubs with demerit points for failing to complete the task of clearing arrears within the stipulated time. Among them.
China Super League (soccer league)
s Wuhan Changjiang and Hebei teams were both penalized twice for failing to meet their July and October targets for clearing arrears.
The plight of Hebei is a microcosm of the current professional soccer clubs. "Unpaid wages are an objective fact, and it's not a small area, it's a large area (of unpaid wages)." Gao An had a long career in China
soccer league
tenure, he explained to a Southern Weekend reporter.
In response to the issue of unpaid wages of Chinese professional soccer clubs, the Southern Weekend reporter repeatedly called the Chinese
soccer league
, but the phone has been unanswered.
In order to avoid penalties, clubs are trying to find ways to vacate. Wu Hao, who has worked as a general manager for a number of soccer clubs, explained to the Southern Weekend reporter, "Some teams are paying salaries this year, counting them as making up for past salary arrears, which is equivalent to not paying the players this season."
Along with salary arrears, clubs will adjust player salaries downward to save costs. Shen Lin, who served as general manager of a China B club in 2021, classified players' income into three brackets of 2,000 yuan/month, 5,000 yuan/month and 10,000 yuan/month, and the team's wage bill for a month was more than 300,000 yuan. In previous years, players in China B could earn 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month.
Zhu Yi is German
transfer to another club (professional sports)
The China administrator of the transfer market website, which is responsible for documenting global
transfer to another club (professional sports)
Situation. Figures provided by Zhu Yi to the Southern Weekend reporter show that by 2020
China Super League (soccer league)
Total players
transfer to another club (professional sports)
Expenditures totaled €90.51 million (about Rs. 662 million), compared to only €13.96 million (about Rs. 102 million) in 2022, a drop of 84%.
Zhu Yi explained that analyzing the data, the 2022
China Super League (soccer league)
One thing about the league is that older players are weeded out quickly, younger players come on early, and many under-19s get to play
China Super League (soccer league)
Up. This age group usually means that players are not yet in their prime and teams can keep them on the field for less money.
Even with the shrinking player wages, the issue of unpaid wages is still the number one problem faced by several clubs at the moment. at the end of December 2022, the
soccer league
A notice was issued requiring clubs to settle all historical salary arrears by December 31 and submit repayment vouchers by January 6, 2023, in accordance with the regulations.
However, several club staffers confirmed to Southern Weekend that, after
soccer league
Verbal notice that the January 6 deadline has been extended to January 31st. If the historical wage arrears cannot be resolved this time, and get the
soccer league
recognition, the team may face relegation or disqualification from admission.
Difficulty for players to defend their rights
Ordinary company employees exist one or two months of unpaid wages, may choose to labor arbitration way to defend their rights, or stop the loss, as early as possible to leave the company. However, in the case of soccer players, the unpaid wages are often as long as one or two years, and there are multiple dilemmas in defending their rights.
Today, Zhou Xuan is no longer holding his breath for the outstanding wages, "it's hard to get them back". Previously, his teammates had been through the Chinese
soccer league
Bringing up arbitration, the most common avenue for players to assert their rights, didn't solve the problem.
In 2021, Football Gazette had an article explaining that
soccer league
Organizational structure of the Arbitration Commission. China
soccer league
The Arbitration Board is composed of 10 legal professionals, all from the
soccer league
Units other than that are part-time, with the only income being a few hundred dollars in stipends upon completion of the award.
soccer league
The awkward thing about arbitration is that the institution does not have the enforcement power of a court of law. When the arbitration results come down, the team needs to pay the players back, and if the team doesn't have the money, the arbitration board can't enforce it or auction off the team's assets. In addition, once the team is dissolved and is no longer
soccer league
Membership, then, is not in the
soccer league
Jurisdiction, no arbitration is possible.
In 2020, Ma Dongliang played for a China B club and left the team, which still owes him more than 100,000 yuan in wages.In July 2022, through the China
soccer league
After the Arbitration Commission submitted the material, he has not received the result so far. "Now I've found a lawyer and am ready to take the legal route." Ma Dongliang told the Southern Weekend reporter.
However, courts do not always accept such cases. Xu Xudong, a lawyer at Jiangsu Yicheng Law Firm, has been responsible for a number of disputes over unpaid wages between team staff and clubs.
"The relationship between the club and the players, some courts believe that it can be dealt with according to the labor relationship and enter labor arbitration and judicial procedures, but there are also courts that do not recognize it." He told the Southern Weekend reporter that he had consulted the court in the Nanjing area on whether the relationship between the club and the players belonged to a labor relationship, but did not get a clear response.
A turnaround is on the horizon with the implementation of a revised sports law, effective January 1, 2023, which excludes labor disputes from the scope of sports arbitration.
Cai Guo, an attorney at Jinmao Law Firm, wrote that the dispute over the salaries of players and coaches is governed by the Labor Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Law of the People's Republic of China, and that the final jurisdiction belongs to the court, not to the "China Sports Arbitration Commission" or the "China National Sports Arbitration Commission".
national soccer team
(c) Internal dispute resolution bodies of sports organizations such as the Arbitration Committee of Ball Games Associations.
The constraints of objective conditions also make many players endure the pain of salary arrears. Halfway through the league season, even with unpaid wages, players struggle to quickly find a next home to go to
soccer league
Arbitration and going to court means falling out with the team, and playing becomes difficult to guarantee. For professional players, on-field stats are an important bargaining chip in salary negotiations.
In addition, in order to continue their careers, many players whose contracts have not yet expired will choose to give up the wages owed to them in exchange for a certificate of "no salary disputes" and a "free agency" in order to find their next home.
Zhou's contract with Hebei is still in effect, but the team is in a dire situation. after his vacation ends in January 2023, Zhou plans to try out for another team.
Information source: China
soccer league
Official website, team announcements Source: Southern Weekend reporter Wu Chao (Feng Qingchao/Photo)
Why did the club run out of money?
"A few years ago when you played a match, you would even take a private jet." Zhou Xuan revealed, "Now as soon as the game is over, you have to book a flight back because you can save money by staying at the base."
Before the Riverhounds fell out of favor, they were
China Super League (soccer league)
One of the most willing to spend money on the team, big money has brought in players such as Zhang Chendong, Gervinho, etc. In 2021, with the Hebei team's parent company in a debt crisis, the huge investment in the soccer sector, naturally, has become an important part of the reduction of costs.
Like Hebei, most of the clubs in wage crisis are in debt and have no choice but to cut back on their investment because their major shareholders are heavily indebted. In the face of huge investment, the club's income is meager, and once the parent company no longer transfers blood, the difference between income and expenditure will become bigger and bigger.
In addition, policies such as the regulation fee over the past few years have exacerbated the club's debt problem, which in turn has affected investors' enthusiasm for investment.
Du Ying is an investor in a soccer club, out of love, invested in a team, step by step, from the middle B kicked into the
China Super League (soccer league)
The team was founded not long ago. Six or seven years ago, the team was not long established, some shareholders because the investment is too large, can not see the bottom, decided to withdraw, gave Du Ying a lot of pressure. In desperation, he sold his house in a first-tier city and carried on.
The team got better and stormed into
soccer league
, a shareholder exited for the same reason, and Du Ying sold one of the more profitable companies for cash flow. "The core of the club is still a corporate property." Du Ying explained to the Southern Weekend reporter that for soccer clubs, it's all about gradually breaking even.
The past three seasons, affected by the epidemic, have been mostly empty games with no spectators or open to a small number of spectators, with a significant drop in gate receipts.
Gao An analysis, if we want to call it a professional league, it must meet three characteristics: first, the tournament regularity, the game time is relatively stable; second, the home and away system; third, the elevation system. The most obvious thing at the moment is that the home and away system has been destroyed, which will bring a series of impacts on ticket income, sponsors and so on.
For soccer clubs, on top of gate receipts, there are broadcasting revenues, sponsorship revenues, merchandising revenues and so on.
Manchester United Football Club
The published 2021 financial results show that the club's highest revenue is broadcasting income at £86.4m, followed by matchday income (tickets etc) at £34.6m and thirdly commercial income (sponsorship, merchandising etc) at £29.2m.
In 2022, Du Ying had communicated with the head of the league's management and operating organization, who confessed that the
China Super League (soccer league)
When league attention drops, advertising becomes less available, Merchandising becomes difficult, and the next team dividend is less optimistic.
For the much less focused
soccer league
, the Chinese B League, few revenues, investors are almost pure investment. Shen Lin told the Southern Weekend reporter that one of the Chinese B clubs managed in 2022 has a yearly budget controlled within 10 million yuan, with wages taking up the bulk of the total. The club owner rents out the training base to the public, contracting matches and providing accommodation to cover some of the expenses.
Can state-owned enterprises take over?
For clubs which are heavily indebted and have accumulated heavy debts, the first thing to do is to survive, and the second thing is to create blood. In order to survive, the measure thrown out by various clubs is shareholding reform.
Generally speaking, share reform is mostly used in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), mainly to introduce social capital, improve the governance structure and enhance the vitality and competitiveness of SOEs. However, the share reform of soccer clubs is reversed, with state-owned enterprises taking over equity from social capitalists.
In 2015, the General Office of the State Council issued the Central
national soccer team
Ball reform and development of the overall program, it is mentioned to optimize the equity structure, the implementation of the government, enterprises, individuals diversified investment. Eight years have passed, private enterprises and individuals on the soccer investment interest has sharply reduced, and the government has a closer relationship with the state-owned enterprises, has become a more appropriate takeover party.
Participation in 2022
China Super League (soccer league)
Nine of the league's 18 clubs have SOE shareholders.
A number of soccer insiders told the Southern Weekend reporter that soccer clubs, as part of the city's culture, are often unwilling to be dissolved by the local government in the face of a debt crisis, particularly
China Super League (soccer league)
Clubs. Local governments are usually the main driving force when it comes to share reform.
A document obtained by a Southern Weekend reporter shows that on December 28, 2022, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports issued a notice requesting that the Shenzhen team in the next season
China Super League (soccer league)
Prior to league access, implement various debt restructuring efforts and communicate frankly with creditors about the club's debt planning.
It's more than one to help the club pay off a huge debt before even investing in it
China Super League (soccer league)
The biggest problem faced by the club when the share reform. Wu Hao introduced 2022, a southern state-owned enterprise and local
China Super League (soccer league)
The club has been negotiating to take over the club, which reported a debt of more than $300 million, but after due diligence by the state-owned company, it found that the actual debt was higher, and there was a delay in negotiating the deal.
The chairman of a state-owned enterprise in Guizhou introduced to the Southern Weekend reporter, the state-owned enterprises to take over the soccer club, will be debt and asset liquidation, not all the debt is a brain next, or else it involves the loss of state-owned assets, "such as bidding, procurement, etc., if mixed with the human factor, or excessive deviation from the market price of the situation, to report to the relevant departments, the state-owned enterprises can not bear This part."
"If it's a key game involving promotion and relegation, and the opponent offers a $5 million win bonus on an ad hoc basis before the game, assuming that our team's majority shareholder is a state-owned enterprise, should we go along with it? If also intends to open 5 million yuan bonus, can we approve the money before the match?" Combined with the experience of more than ten years in the industry, Wu Hao does not recognize the model of state-owned enterprises to take over soccer clubs at high prices, "It would be better to let them disband and rebuild a team at a lower cost."
(At the request of the interviewees, Zhou Xuan, Gao An, Wu Hao, Shen Lin and Du Ying are pseudonyms in the text.)
Southern Weekend Reporter Wu Chao
