Luo Ranfeng:This list is not linked to the final league quota, and can only be based on the final professional league admission list announced by the CFA. According to the CFA club admission rules, the admission criteria involves sports criteria, club infrastructure criteria, personnel management criteria, legal criteria and financial criteria. Only when all criteria are met can a league place be granted.
Second group of clubs to complete debt settlement
Zhang Wen:The completion of arrears we are talking about should only be part of the financial criteria. As a result, the list of league clubs and even the start time of the league is currently in limbo. But isn't everyone still looking forward to the 2023 season?
Wang Wei:China's soccer league has entered a trough, and I believe it will return to an upward path afterward. For example, after saying goodbye to gold dollar soccer, clubs will plan their long-term development more rationally and set more scientific salary standards for players. In this way, Chinese professional soccer can also enter a healthy and sustainable development.
Zhang Wen:I think what fans are most looking forward to is at least returning to the home stands this year and ending the three years most people couldn't be on the field for a game. Finally, we had to say goodbye to the match system and go back to the classic home and away format.
Wang Wei:As a matter of fact, there have been some open spectators in the domestic league this year. For example, in the Women's Super League, spectators have already entered the stadium to watch the game, with more than 5,000 spectators flocking to the Sichuan Women's Football Team's home stadium. Recently, I went to Nanjing to see the home match of Jiangsu Wuxi Women's Football Team, and there were more than 1,000 spectators. Guangxi has a provincial league, the Guangxi Football Super League, or "Gui Super League" for short. Spectators are very enthusiastic about watching live soccer matches.
Ticketing needs to be tailored to the situation
Zhang Wen:There seems to be a lot of preparation for the return to the home-and-away system. Beijing Guoan's home stadium was Workers Stadium, which has now been transformed into the new Workers Stadium, a professional soccer stadium. With the return of the league, the stadium's dynamics have changed, the location of the broadcast has changed, and the security around the stadium has changed. Was a lot of preparation necessary?
Wang Wei:I don't think these preparations are difficult for every family. They are basic technical issues, and the clubs and local football associations can do a good job of coordinating as they should. Perhaps what deserves more attention is how to do a good job of fan service.
Zhang Wen: Back to home and away, we hope that the ball market will be back on fire more quickly, is it possible to set up some preferential profit plans in terms of ticketing?
Luo Ranfeng:Profit can fulfill functions such as recovering money and increasing attendance, but its function does not only stop at these relatively utilitarian levels, it is also a way to show appreciation to the fans. In the past three years, there have not been many opportunities for fans and clubs to fight in the same space, which can lead to some feelings of alienation. Profitability allows fans to feel respected by the club, which can quickly re-unite trust and solidarity between them.
The "12th man" in the stands is about to make a full return to the domestic league.
Wang Wei:In fact, three years ago, due to the league's change to a conference system, some pre-sold season tickets and packages lost their use before the 2020 season. Many fans did not opt for refunds and have kept the rights and benefits. Therefore, these package entitlements should be re-realized after the return to the home and away system. Therefore, the setup method should be more flexible when selling packages again this season. Like Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic's sale of membership, it is actually an exploration. Developing products that serve fans on the basis of match-watching interests, which in turn generates a deep fan culture, will help support the club's long-term development.
Zhang Wen:Many clubs in China have actually explored the mechanism of serving fans and hope to establish a more harmonious relationship with them. However, the related work seems to be not fine enough, and many clubs do not have a department specialized in fan-related affairs.
Wang Wei:During an early visit to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, I learned the details of how these European clubs serve their fans. Bayern invites fans to watch the team train every month. A coffee shop has been opened at the training ground, specializing in receiving fans and selling coffee, beer, sandwiches and so on. Watching team training is itself a great scene for fan interaction, and the coffee shop makes the whole interactive atmosphere more free and easy. This is an excellent form of serving fans, and I think it's worthwhile for domestic clubs to learn from.
Urgent need for business development talent to join Business Development Talent
Zhang Wen:Fan packages, coffee derivatives and so on. All belong to the club's way of open source, but the income in this area is just a drop in the bucket for the operation of domestic clubs. Many clubs told me that the income from derivatives only accounts for less than 1% of the total income. It is difficult to make revenue from derivatives right away, and in recent years, clubs have seen a significant drop in revenue from commercial sponsorships and broadcasting. How to deal with this challenge?
Luo Ranfeng:Business difficulties are actually a problem in world soccer. But for the domestic game, revenues from broadcasting and sponsorships have decreased, but clubs' player expenses have gradually returned to a rational level. Then, with the return of the home-and-away system, the popularity of the ball market is expected to rebound with a vengeance. In this way, domestic professional soccer will enter a state where things will go back to normal. Some clubs that have difficulty returning will exit and new investors will come in. The new investors will be more rational and easier to find a new road suitable for the development of the club. This path can also achieve break-even or even long-term profits. With general investment rationality, the environmental industry changes.
Zhang Wen:But clubs still need commercial sponsorship anyway. Before the neutral name policy was implemented, the naming of clubs was a very valuable form of sponsorship. How do you sponsor now after losing your title?
Wang Wei:In terms of advertising space, it is nothing more than chest ads and sleeve ads. If it is more open, more sponsorship positions can be introduced like overseas leagues, such as hip ads. But I think the most important thing is to have operational talents to join the club and develop business cooperation according to commercial principles. In the past, domestic clubs relied too much on blood transfusion from investors or parent companies, and now they need more talents to do well in business development itself.
Talent is needed from leagues to clubs to help business grow.
Luo Ranfeng:The neutral name policy cuts an important source of income for clubs. As the promoters of the policy, CFA and the league should consider how to do their services well and help clubs to bridge the income gap. Why do so many businesses want to sponsor Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester United? Because these clubs continue to accumulate honors in the most important domestic leagues, and then the leagues have high international influence, and the clubs benefit from the commercial value that comes from this influence.
The domestic league should also try to explore the broadcast presentation, media presentation and peripheral packaging in the coming seasons to enhance the commercial value of the league. This is because it is very difficult to market and attract sponsors just by relying on the clubs themselves. As the commercial value of the league increases, clubs can increase their share of the league's broadcasting and advertising revenue, and clubs can attract more partners through a good platform.
New season tasked with reshaping fan expectations
Zhang Wen:As far as I remember, the club did think of many ways to present advertisers. For example, all the carpets in the stadium are printed with sponsor logos. In order to prepare for the new season, the club will continue to try to take the initiative to allow the team to increase revenue.
The exact timing of the new season has not been finalized yet, it is just tentatively scheduled to start in late April. Overall, the new season is still relatively close to us. So, when the league ends in half a year and the dust settles on the champions, AFC Champions League, relegation and other places, what kind of answer will we think can be considered satisfactory for the 2023 season?
Luo Ranfeng:My own expectations are not very high. The third tier can end successfully. During this period, there should not be too many salary disputes or consecutive clubs voluntarily withdrawing from the competition. Each round was played on a quality and quantity basis. I think this is a reflection of the league's reversal.
It's time to wake up the fans to the club again.
Wang Wei:I hope I can see a spirit in this season, whether it's learning from painful experiences or gaining courage from shame. Players are no longer just chasing high salaries and committing themselves to training and matches like they used to; all walks of life have sunk their teeth into thinking seriously about how to do well in Chinese soccer. In terms of the survival and development of clubs, I think as long as we can hold on this year and fewer clubs quit, the Chinese soccer market can slowly survive the tough experiences of these years and gradually get back on track.
Zhang Wen: I'm asking for more than two. From a fan's point of view: If by the end of this year, I'll be back on the "soccer biological clock", knowing which day of the week and when each game starts; if I'm worried about an upcoming game, I'll be excited when it starts on Saturday. If I turn on the TV or other media during game time, I can easily watch my hometown team play... If all of the above comes to pass, the 2023 season will be a satisfying one. We hope to see the Chinese Football League soon and return to our familiar daily life. Thank you for joining the program again.
