Sichuan Jiuniu relocates to Shenzhen
Reporter reports: Sichuan Jiuniu moves to Shenzhen, gets official backing, positive outlook.
On December 16, reporter Cheng Wenli disclosed that the plan of Chinese Super League newcomer Sichuan Jiuniu to relocate to Shenzhen has gained support from relevant departments and is expected to become a reality.
Soccer Daily noted that the CFA asked clubs at all levels of the league for opinions on the 2024 season's professional league policy on Dec. 12 and used a questionnaire survey to find out the clubs' views on the off-site transfer policy. The questionnaire survey included a question about whether the off-site transfer policy supports conditional transfers.
In a Weibo update, Cheng Wenli said Sichuan Jiuniu's wish to move to Shenzhen is expected to come true, she said:
Until 6:30pm today, I thought that foreign clubs moving to Shenzhen were restricted by policy and unlikely to succeed. But just now, I received news (not rumors) from insiders that Sichuan Jiuniu's wish to move to Shenzhen is expected to come true!
In fact, as early as February this year, there were rumors that several foreign clubs were interested in relocating to Shenzhen, including last year's relegated Hebei, Heilongjiang in the Central League, Jiangxi in the Central League B and Zhuhai. The Shenzhen Sports Bureau was open to the idea, however, due to an accident involving Chinese Football Association (CFA) president Chen Xuyuan, the foreign transfer policy was suspended and Sichuan Jiuniu's plan to move to Changsha was shelved.
Why do so many teams aspire to Shenzhen? The reason lies in Shenzhen's preferential policies. For example, Shenzhen's local Chinese Super League B clubs can enjoy special fund subsidies for Shenzhen's sports industry. In recent seasons, Shenzhen soccer clubs participating in the Chinese Super League have been able to receive an annual subsidy of 60 million yuan in special funds, of which 35 million yuan is subsidized by the municipal government and 25 million yuan is subsidized by the Longgang District Government (provided the team's home stadium is located in the Longgang Universiade Center).
On December 14, Shenzhen Football Club completed its business registration. Legal representative Tang Xigang is also the CEO of City Football Group China, responsible for the operation of Sichuan Jiuniu. His identity is of interest. I previously speculated that Shenzhen might be interested in creating a championship-winning division, as Sichuan JiuNiu did not receive policy support from the Football Association when it moved to Shenzhen. Now, the relocation seems to have taken a turn for the better. Insiders revealed that Jiu Niu's move to Shenzhen was supported by the relevant departments.
