Wuhan Changjiang Football Club, a name that carries the memories of countless fans, quietly announced its departure.
The rumored exit was unveiled on New Year's Day night. Wuhan Changjiang FC released a statement announcing that it will bid farewell to the future league stage and completely withdraw from the Chinese soccer scene. Before the prelude to the 2023 league has even been played, a piece of soccer history has come to a close.
Since the end of 2011, Zall Group took over the club has been more than 11 years, experienced the rise and fall of the golden dollar era. However, the club finally embarked on a parting journey. This is not only the end of a club, but also a witness to the continuation of the influence of the Golden Dollar Era on Chinese soccer.
According to public information, on December 14, 2011, Zall Holdings took over the Hubei Green Team, which changed its name to Wuhan Zall Professional Football Club. During this decade, the team was once faced with the crisis of being relocated out of the city, but the intervention of Zall Holdings allowed the team to stay in Wuhan.In 2021, the CFA implemented the neutral name policy, and the Zall Group's investment in the club accumulated up to 4 billion yuan during this decade.
Four billion yuan may be just two years' worth of expenses for the former Chinese Super League juggernaut and Asian giant, but for Wuhan Changjiang FC, which has struggled in the Central League all year round, it's the equivalent of nearly 400 million yuan a year, an almost astronomical figure.
However, the report card in return is not exactly glamorous. Over the past decade, Wuhan Zall won the title three rounds early in 2012, but after being relegated in 2013, the team returned to the Central League.In 2018, the team won the title again, but the value for money doesn't seem to be very good.
In 2018, Wuhan Zall won the Central League Championship.
Of course, the club's plight is not an isolated case. Under the shadow of the Golden Dollar Era, most clubs in the Chinese Super League invested blindly with exponential growth in investment. Guizhou Hengfeng is a typical example, with investment in the Chinese Super League exceeding 1 billion yuan in two years, but the club suffered relegation the following year and was eventually dissolved.
Jianye FC investor Hu Baosen has also complained about the high relegation budget. Fortunately, Jianye FC received support from the local government and was able to move forward.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has implemented a series of policy restrictions since 2018 in an attempt to extinguish the false fire of the golden dollar era. In the past two years, most teams' investment has returned to rationality, but the side effects of the golden dollar era on Chinese soccer have not been completely eliminated, especially under the impact of the epidemic, many club investors are under huge financial pressure, and an increasing number of teams have withdrawn from the top league.
Jiangsu disbanded after winning the championship, followed by Chongqing. Tianjin Tianhai, one of the representatives of the golden dollar era, also announced its exit. Even though Hebei has gradually transformed itself in recent years, historical debts still leave the club in jeopardy.
