Shocking news came as the Wuhan Yangtze River Club announced its exit from the river.
On New Year's Day, Wuhan Changjiang released a statement announcing that it would not be involved in the league in the future, marking the end of an era of soccer. 2023 has not yet begun, and another seal in the history of soccer has already been stamped.
Zall Group has taken over the club since the end of 2011, and has witnessed the ups and downs of the Golden Dollar Era over a period of 11 years. However, in the end, the club still chose to quit, which can't help but make people think deeply about the far-reaching impact of the Golden Dollar Era on Chinese soccer.
Since December 14, 2011, Zall Group has taken over the Hubei Green Team and changed its name to Wuhan Zall Professional Football Club. With the support of the Zall Group, the team was caught in a resale storm, but ultimately stayed in Wuhan. 2021, when the club was renamed, according to the media, the Zall Group invested as much as 4 billion yuan during the decade.
At $4 billion, the average annual investment of nearly $400 million is undoubtedly astronomical for a team that has struggled in the Chinese Super League and First Division all year round. However, these investments have not yielded the expected returns. In the past decade, Wuhan Zall had a short-lived glory, but also suffered relegation and relegation struggle.
In the golden dollar era, investment in the Chinese Super League has increased geometrically, and the arms race between clubs has become more and more intense. Clubs such as Guizhou Hengfeng and Tianjin Tianhai have fallen on hard times and even disbanded. Hu Baosen, an investor in Jianye FC, has also complained about the high relegation budget.
The CFA has introduced a series of policy restrictions since 2018 in an attempt to curb the madness of the golden dollar era. However, the shadow of the Golden Dollar Era has not completely dissipated, and many club investors have been under huge financial pressure due to the epidemic, with a handful of teams quitting the top flight in recent years.
Clubs such as Jiangsu and Chongqing have announced their dissolution, and Tianjin Tianhai has opted out. Despite Hebei's gradual transformation into a small business, historical debt still puts it at risk of dissolution.
Wuhan Changjiang FC fans, there may still be a trace of reluctance in your hearts. However, Wuhan Changjiang FC is no longer the only suspense of the new season league access. Shanghai Shenhua, Beijing Guoan, Shandong Taishan and other veteran teams are supported by the local management due to their deep roots. And it is still unknown whether clubs like Hebei, Shenzhen and Guangzhou will be able to participate in the new league season.
Yan Zhi, investor of Wuhan Changjiang FC, wrote in his withdrawal statement, "Because we are not professional enough, because the environment of Chinese professional soccer is too poor, club operation, team performance is not satisfactory." Indeed, whether the club is professional or not, the professional league environment is still the key to the healthy development of the Chinese professional league in the post-golden dollar era.
