Information Express, Beijing time on January 30, soccer newspaper came to the latest developments, after the Spring Festival holiday, China's Football Association (hereinafter referred to as the Football Association) functions have been on track. At present, the repayment of historical salaries and strict access mechanism for the new season has become the top priority of the league's work.
It is reported that all departments of the Football Association quickly resumed operation after the Spring Festival holiday, and the work of repaying wages in arrears is being carried out in an orderly manner. Clubs have submitted relevant materials, while strict control of the threshold of access has become the basic working policy.
Looking back to the 2022 season, the FA had promulgated the principle of clearing historical salary arrears in three installments, and most clubs had completed the first two tasks. However, due to the impact of the epidemic and other factors, some organizations have not been able to work normally, and the FA has given a reasonable period of grace for this. However, it needs to be clear that teams at all levels must complete the cleanup of salary arrears before completing the audit of access to all levels of the league for the new season, especially in the middle super-level teams, which must not be allowed to enter with salary arrears as they did last season.
Most of the Chinese Super League (CSL) teams have already submitted their materials, and there are 18 teams in this season's CSL, including those promoted from the Chinese First Division and those promoted from last season. Among them, seven clubs are in a more optimistic situation as they avoided the craziest period of the golden dollar era. In addition, strong teams such as Taishan, Shenhua, Guoan and Harbor are all fine, while Tianjin and Changchun are also running normally. Henan has some arrears but is expected to be resolved. Guangzhou City is facing a stock reform dilemma, and Shenzhen's future is uncertain due to the change of two former bosses. Dalian is currently in a difficult situation, waiting for the result of the adjustment of the city management. If support is obtained, it is expected to solve the problem.
According to the current understanding of the situation, the Football Association does not rule out the possibility of the Chinese Super League downsizing, that is, the 2023 season may only have 16 Chinese Super League teams. Of course, this is only the current pre-programming, but the determination and pre-programming shown by the Football Association is a serious warning to those teams that always owe wages and operate in an irregular manner - the clearing out will be clearing out. Although the Chinese Super League has just expanded to 18 teams for the 2022 season, many would consider it a step backward if it is downsized for the 2023 season. However, if there are too many teams that do not meet the criteria and requirements, the FA will have to downsize. Despite the inevitable impact, the move is intended for the betterment of the future.
