Last season, the world watched the amateur team Jingchuan Wenhui's "Miracle in the County" as they knocked out Chinese Super League giant Beijing Guoan in the FA Cup. However, the story behind the legend is as dramatic as a painting.
In the second round of the FA Cup last year, Jingchuan Wenhui fought Beijing Guoan to a 2-2 draw in regular time, and eventually won 5-3 on penalties, writing a magnificent chapter in the amateur team's victory over the giants.
After the match, legends about Jingchuan Wenhui came thick and fast. Some claimed that the team's sponsor was actually a stationery store, run by the old captain, who won the team's title with just 5,500 yuan; and that the goalkeeper took a leave of absence from work to attend the FA Cup, only to have his salary deducted by the school.
However, the vast majority of online rumors about Jingchuan Wenhui are not true. Despite the fact that this is an amateur team, the players are paid a meager salary, and nowadays they are even in arrears.
Recently, Jingchuan Wenhui player Du Zexin in the network voice, denounced the club in the "county in the miracle" after the use of players speculation, but the delay in the release of bonuses, he said that he and other players have not received a penny.
In that game against Beijing Guoan, Du Zexin played valiantly, opening the scoring for his team in just four minutes. The city of Pingliang, where Jingchuan Wenhui is located, rewarded the club with 600,000 yuan for the victory.
Jingchuan County has a household population of 346,500 and a resident population of 215,600. On this piece of land, Jingchuan Wenhui Club has 152 registered players, of which 70 are locals, which shows that the local soccer atmosphere is strong.
But in fact, the Jingchuan Wenhui team that appeared in the FA Cup was actually a loan team from Guangxi. All the players are from Beihai Jichi, and in order to participate in the Champions League, they play under the name of Gansu, with salaries paid by Beihai Jichi. Although the players were not well paid, goalkeeper Cui Tonghui was paid only 5,000 RMB per month as the top salary.
In recent years, non-payment of wages has become a persistent problem in China's professional leagues. Unexpectedly, even high-profile and low-cost amateur clubs are not immune.
This is Chinese soccer, and at its root, the country still lacks the soil for a club to grow healthily.
