2. Internal turmoil in the Football Association
In the stormy past six months, there has been an unprecedented storm of investigations within the Chinese Football Association (CFA). Within a short period of 150 days, nine key members of the CFA have been caught up in the whirlpool of scrutiny. In such a short period of time, the number of people involved, the high position, is rare.
In November last year, former international footballer Li Tie was thrust into the limelight on suspicion of major illegal issues. And reports of censorship by the CFA seem to have become a family affair.2023 In January, Liu Yi, the former secretary general of the CFA, Chen Yongliang, the executive deputy secretary general, and Chen Xuyuan, the president, were all under scrutiny one after the other. Chen Xuyuan has been the president since 2019, and his leadership team's policy of neutrality once overshadowed the commercial value of the Chinese Super League.
In March, Wang Xiaoping, director of the Disciplinary Committee of the Football Association, and Huang Song, head of the Competition Department, were also implicated in the investigation. Wang Xiaoping was jokingly called a "calligrapher" because he was often seen signing fines. Vice-chairman Yu Hongchen is known for his comments that he "can't play". Meanwhile, Dong Zheng, the former general manager of the Chinese Super League, has also joined the investigation.
In April, Du Zhaocai, deputy director of the State General Administration of Sports and party secretary of the Football Association, became a key figure in this anti-corruption storm. Currently, only Gao Hongbo and Sun Wen are left as vice-presidents of the FA, with Yan Zhanhe, secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and He Xi, deputy secretary-general.
3. Can the Chinese Super League pick up in the new season?
Last year, the Chinese Super League (CSL) expanded to 18 teams, but numerous teams are in financial trouble, with salary arrears in the spotlight and fan attention plummeting. Last season's Chinese Super League was a cold one.
However, Wuhan Three Town broke the deadlock last year and won the title on goal difference, creating a miracle of winning the third consecutive year of the third-tier league. The team has been strengthened by the introduction of powerful foreign players such as Stancho, Davidson and Wallace, as well as domestic players such as Deng Hanwen, Gao Junyi and Liu Tenzai. In the new season, Sanzhen continued to optimize the lineup, introducing middle-generation players such as Li Yang, Wei Shihao, Yan Dinghao, etc., and foreign aid Yakubu even scored a header on his debut.
Shandong Luneng ranked second in the Chinese Super League last season and won the FA Cup. Despite slightly conservative investments in the era of gold-dollar soccer, Luneng's investments remain stable. Last season, Luneng's youth training system contributed 23 players. With the help of strong foreign players, Luneng won the FA Cup for the third consecutive time.
Zhejiang managed to qualify for the AFC Champions League after finishing third in the league and runner-up in the FA Cup in their debut season. As a veteran team, Zhejiang had fallen into the Central League in 2016. After several years of hard work, they defeated Qingdao in the play-offs of the 2021 season to return to the Chinese Super League. In the new season, Zhejiang attracted more than 30 sponsors, becoming the first in China.
The new Super League season is about to kick off and we are looking forward to a lively event.
