The Chinese men's soccer selection team, after seven days of intensive quarantine, was disbanded in Haikou City on August 8, as originally scheduled. However, the uncertainty of the recent epidemic in Hainan Province has caused a great impact as flights from Haikou to major tournaments across the country have been canceled. At present, a total of six Chinese Super League teams are temporarily stranded in Haikou, their subsequent trip, are still waiting for the latest official notice.
These unforeseen circumstances have undoubtedly brought challenges to the operation of the Super League as well. The tournament organizers are in urgent consultation to formulate a strategy to deal with the situation. It is reported that the CFL preparatory team has conveyed the message to the clubs in Haikou that the fixtures for the 12th to 14th rounds have not yet been finalized. The organizers may fine-tune the schedule to allow the six Haikou teams to play internal matches earlier. However, no plans have been announced for the adjustment of the "neutral zone", and the league's operations will continue without suspension.
After participating in the 2022 East Asian Cup Invitational Tournament, the Chinese men's soccer selection team returned on July 28 and arrived in Haikou City the same evening, followed by a seven-day quarantine in accordance with epidemic prevention requirements. By August 8, the quarantine period was over and the whole team was disbanded. According to the original plan, the players should return to their respective clubs on the same day to prepare for the next Chinese Super League match.
However, on the morning of the 8th, a reporter from the Beiqing Daily reported that some of the international players, such as Fang Hao of Shandong Taishan, had already met with their affiliated clubs, while other players continued to wait for further instructions in Haikou.
As a result of the epidemic in Hainan, almost all flights from Haikou to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Dalian have been canceled in the past two days. Hainan's anti-epidemic policy has also been continuously adjusted under the new developments of the epidemic. Four matches of the 11th round of the Chinese Super League have been played in Haikou, including Hebei vs Chengdu Rongcheng, Shenzhen vs Zhejiang, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers vs Shandong Taishan, and Cangzhou Lions vs Guangzhou. As the match between Shenzhen and Zhejiang ended on the 5th, the two teams were able to leave Haikou in time. The other six teams stayed in Haikou for the time being.
Despite the unexpected turn of events, the CFF preparatory team had fully anticipated the various contingencies that might arise before the start of the 2nd phase of the league and had reserved a number of alternative match days. For example, August 30th and 31st are alternative bye days. Although the 6 teams are unable to leave Haikou for the time being, the organizers have already started to adjust the schedule and even considered arranging some of the matches between them in Haikou.
At the same time, the organizers are also speeding up communication with other Chinese Super League (CSL) regions to strive for more convenience for the future travel of the six teams. 8 noon, there is news that the 12th round of the CSL scheduled to be played in Haikou, Shenzhen vs. Dalian People's game may be changed to home and away switch, the game will be held in Dalian's Puwan Stadium. However, the final arrangement of the game requires further communication between the tournament organizers and the two clubs and a decision based on the epidemic and epidemic prevention policy.
