March 30, 2023 marks the seventh birthday of Chinese first division team Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic. However, a day before that, Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic's name did not appear in the 2023 professional league access list announced by the CFA on the 29th. This means they cannot participate in the new season of the Chinese professional league. In other words, one day before the 7th anniversary, this team actually welcomed the fate of dissolution.
According to Shi Qiang, the head of the preparatory team of the Chinese Football Federation, access was strict this year. He admitted that the Shaanxi team did make a lot of efforts, but failed because the arbitration lawsuit was not resolved. If it passes, it will be unfair to other clubs and the whole league.
Seven years in business, Shaanxi fans
That said, Shaanxi soccer doesn't seem to be the most important part of the Chinese soccer map. Whether it's the record of local teams or the contribution of international players, they can't be described as brilliant. However, it was in this land, long barren of professional soccer, that a fanatical fan base was born that is widely known throughout the country. From Bayi, who spent a year in Xi'an during the old A-A era in 1995, to Shaanxi Guoli, who created a famous platinum market, to Shaanxi Miao, who relocated from Shanghai, spent five years in Guizhou, and then headed south, everyone knows these teams through them, even though they have disappeared into the long history of professional soccer in China.
Ke Wang, vice president of Chang'an Athletic, explained that the highest of that number was 48,869 spectators for the game against Nantong Zhiyun at the Shaanxi Provincial Stadium that decided the place in the Central League at the time. That number is now considered the club's mantra. In fact, Shaanxi Provincial Stadium had 50,000 seats open for that game. By comparison, that number would rank seventh for all matches in the Chinese Professional Football League in 2018, and the top six are all single matches in the Chinese Super League. For example, Guoan vs. Evergrande and Luneng vs. Shenhua are similar to this game, which featured two Chinese B teams with no foreign coaches or foreign aiders. In fact, Root vs. non-foreigners.
The stock reform process has finally come to an end after a series of twists and turns.
Over the years, the bar for investment in Chinese soccer has risen as a result of gold-dollar soccer. Since 2020, the league has not had a home and away system for three consecutive years due to the epidemic. Losing ticket revenue from the home market has made the club's finances worse. Chang'an Athletic desperately needs the help of strong investors.
However, due to the Xi'an epidemic, the originally planned shareholding change could not be completed on time at the end of 2021. In addition, after the Spring Festival, the original chairman of the group suddenly and unfortunately passed away, and the group's business philosophy and business development direction also changed, which made the original signature-only shareholding change stagnate until the club was finally disbanded without any substantial results. What's more, according to the recollection of Zhang Wei, vice president of Chang'an Athletic, at that time the club had already smashed 140 million yuan of recruitment in advance in accordance with the budget of the supercar.
How short of money?In early 2022, the team spent two months of winter training in Guangdong because they had no money to pay for food, shelter, and field expenses, which at one point were deducted from the hotel. In the end, the club's staff cobbled together donations of more than 200,000 yuan to bring the team back. Then there was the money that Chang'an Athletic staff member Hui Yuxing took out to prepare for his wedding. At that time, he donated the bride price that he was going to buy three golds for his wife to the club.
The team's spirit is not down to create the best record in team history.
Due to the actual situation of the club, the famous coach Wang Baoshan, who was signed at the beginning of 2022, and some new helpers left the team after the first stage of the league. In the second stage, no one could use Chang'an Athletic entered the tournament with only 19 players. When they suffered a lot of injuries, they were not satisfied even sitting on the bench. However, under these circumstances, the team achieved an unbeaten record of five wins and three draws, and even had hopes of overtaking in the second half of the year.
Even if the repayment is not completed by October 31, 2022, it will not be less than 70% of the total amount of salary owed for the 2021 season and before, and six league points will be deducted by the Football Association in November. In such a predicament, Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic ended up in fifth place in the Central League last season, recording the best record in the team's history.
Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic players pull up two banners on the pitch before the final round of last season's Central League match on Dec. 7, 2022: "Fighting for Shaanxi, goodbye Northwest Wolves!" "I hope the share reform continues to move forward and preserve the Shaanxi soccer flame!"
Innovative Self-Help Offers Life Memberships to Raise Funds
In terms of price, the first class is actually equivalent to a one-year package, plus some rights and benefits, is 1,000 and 1,300, the specific difference is that some of the seats in the stands are different; the second class of the lifetime glory membership is actually a 5-year package, 5 years add up to about 10,000 yuan.
In just a few days, Shaanxi fans were more enthusiastic than one could have imagined, their own team came to the rescue, and the sale of memberships allowed the team to successfully raise tens of millions of dollars.
The open membership system is also recognized by many other non-Changan Athletic fans. A Japanese fan who is active on the "Knowing Footballer" app also participated in the purchase. He posted a message on the app saying, "I've purchased a membership to Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic, No. 07735, and I've heard that this membership is a solution to the problem of lack of funds. Don't dissolve. Come on."
Even in the soccer management system, many staff members of the CFA support and recognize Chang'an Athletic's quest for membership. According to Wang Tao, chief reporter of the CCTV sports channel, more than six people on and off the stage paid for memberships at the press conference on March 29, when the CFA and CFL preparatory team announced that Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic had failed to pass the access.
The club has repeatedly guaranteed that the money raised will go into a regulated account and can only be utilized through access. If you lose access, the money will certainly be returned in the same way.
This design avoids legal risks and safeguards the rights of fans. But on the other hand, no money can solve the arrears of wages, so it cannot pass the access, and the funds raised in the end can only be used after the access. It seems to be mutually binding conditions, which also makes the money a bit like quenching a thirst for plums.
It's hard to say goodbye when the Quakers haven't broken up the Northwest Wolves.
The suspense was finally resolved on March 29th, when the CFA confirmed that Chang'an Athletic had still not been admitted. The Chinese first division club, which had just achieved the best result in the team's history last season, said goodbye to Chinese professional soccer the day before its seventh birthday, leaving the 13th Dynasty capital of Xi'an once again without a professional soccer home team.
That afternoon, Chang'an Athletic held its final training session at its Xi'an Zhaoba base, where nearly 1,000 fans traveled to say goodbye to the team.
The author of this quote is Hui Yuxing, who donated all the money he spent on three dollars for his fiancée to the club. He said that although it was sad and depressing at the time, they would have been pleased if Shaanxi soccer could absorb their experience and use Chang'an Athletic as a paving stone to go farther and better.
In the withdrawal announcement, the club also stated that "the money related to the founding lifetime membership and packages will be refunded to the fans in the same way as soon as possible." This is despite the fact that a large number of Shaanxi fans have expressed their willingness to voluntarily donate their membership and package fees to Shaanxi players free of charge.
Although the team was not retained in the end, He Xiaolong, a Xi'an media personality who has been reporting on Chinese soccer since 1994, believes that Chang'an Athletic's exploration of the membership system deserves the attention and reference of all professional soccer clubs in China.
