With the spring breeze, the 2023 season of the Chinese Super League is getting closer and closer, and is expected to kick off in mid-April. However, the question of which teams will join the soccer feast is still up in the air. As of March 20, the CFA has yet to announce the final list of entrants, so everything is still in flux.
The readiness of many teams is unknown.
After the Spring Festival holiday, the promotion horse Nantong Zhiyun took the lead in the action, they assembled at the Rugao Olympic Sports Center in Jiangsu Province to prepare for the game, becoming the first Chinese Super League team to put into the preparation for the new season.
Nantong Zhiyun player Lei Wenjie (left), who is showing off his skills on the field.
Last season, Nantong Zhiyun successfully jumped up with the third place in the Central League. The team harbors a dream to show their strength in the new league. They not only brought in former international player Wang Song, but also promoted Portuguese assistant coach Patricio to be the head coach of the first team. Patricio revealed that the team started to prepare for the new season's signings before the end of the season, and hoped that the new players would energize the team.
Following the Nantong Zhiyun, Shandong Taishan, Dalian people, Beijing Guoan and other teams have also blown the rallying cry. But Cangzhou Lions, Guangzhou City, Shenzhen and other teams have not made any preparations for the war. If these teams can not quickly solve the equity reform and wage arrears and other issues, whether they can successfully participate in the new season of the Chinese Super League, has become an unknown.
The downsizing of the CFL has sparked controversy.
On February 7, a meeting of club leaders of the 2023 Chinese Football Professional League was held in Xianghe, Hebei, where policies for the new season were revealed. However, the start time and teams for the league are still to be determined and will be unveiled after the access work is completed.
Shenzhen team's situation is of concern
According to the CFA's regulations, if clubs are unable to solve the remaining problems such as salary arrears, they will not be able to complete the registration of the new season. In the media briefing on the 9th, the preparatory group of the CFA revealed that there are indeed some clubs in arrears of wages. In the face of this problem, the Football Association gave three time nodes, requiring clubs to gradually solve. With the new season approaching, the person in charge of the preparatory group of the Football Association expressed a firm position: "If some clubs can't solve the wage arrears, then choose to quit!"
In addition to the 18 established teams, a proposal to reduce the size of the Premier League has been put forward, but this has caused no small amount of controversy, with sponsors in particular voicing their displeasure.
