On the afternoon of October 28th, Qingdao West Coast defeated Guangzhou 2-0 in the 29th round of the Chinese League on the road, and succeeded in advancing to the Chinese Super League one round ahead of schedule. As a result, two teams from Qingdao (Qingdao Hainiu and Qingdao West Coast) will participate in the Super League in the 2024 season, making it the first time in the history of the island city to have a top-flight matchup. Together with Shandong Taishan, there will be three Shandong teams in the 2024 season.
Before the final round of the Central League, Sichuan Jiu Niu was at the top of the table with 63 points, followed by Qingdao West Coast with 55 points, and Shijiazhuang Kung Fu and Nanjing City in third and fourth place with 50 and 49 points respectively. Sichuan Jiuniu have already locked up the Super League qualification three rounds ahead of schedule and the Central League Championship title two rounds ahead of schedule. The remaining spot will be contested by Qingdao West Coast, Shijiazhuang Kung Fu and Nanjing City.
In this season's Central League, it is impossible for 3 teams to have the same number of points. Qingdao West Coast and Shijiazhuang Kung Fu have the same points, but Qingdao West Coast has 1 win and 1 loss. Qingdao West Coast and Nanjing City have the same points, but Qingdao West Coast's win-loss ratio is 1 win and 1 loss.
Therefore, if Qingdao West Coast wins in this round of matches, they will be able to determine the runner-up of the Central League in advance and succeed in the Super League. If Qingdao West Coast draws and Shijiazhuang Kung Fu fails to win, Qingdao West Coast will still be able to advance to the Super League. Only if Qingdao West Coast loses, and neither Shijiazhuang Kungfu nor Nanjing City can win, Qingdao West Coast will be able to advance to the Super League.
The conditions for Shijiazhuang Kung Fu to reach the Super League are: they must win all of their last two matches and Qingdao West Coast must score a maximum of one point in both matches. The conditions for Nanjing City to reach the Super League are: they must win all of their last two matches and Qingdao West Coast must lose all of their matches, while Shijiazhuang Kung Fu can only score a maximum of 4 points.
In the end, Qingdao West Coast reached their desire for victory, Shijiazhuang Kung Fu got the win, while Nanjing City unfortunately failed to achieve the Super League.
In 2007, Qingdao West Coast Football Club was founded.On September 5, 2019, the club changed its name to Qingdao Zhongchuang Hengtai Football Club, and succeeded in advancing to the Chinese League B by replacement, ranking 8th.In 2020, Qingdao Zhongchuang Hengtai was ranked 8th in the Chinese League B. On January 14, 2021, the club changed its name again to Qingdao Qingdao Youth Island Football Club, and succeeded in advancing through the additional rounds of the Chinese League Central League A, ranking 4th.
On April 22, 2022, Qingdao Youth Island Football Club signed a contract with Qingdao Free Trade Zone - Sino-German Eco-Park German Football Asia Base and officially moved into Qingdao West Coast New District, and finished 9th in the Central League. Subsequently, on March 6, 2023, the club changed its name to Qingdao West Coast Football Club and managed to advance to the Chinese Super League with one round of advancement, finishing as the runner-up in the Chinese League.
