In an online meeting held on the 3rd, the CFA and the preparatory group of the CFL joined hands to convene the clubs of the Chinese Super League, the Chinese League A and the Chinese League B. After the meeting, the CFA quickly released a number of working notices on the 2022 season of the Chinese Super League, the Chinese League A, and the Chinese League B. The CFA formally announced a list of the clubs that will be allowed to join the leagues of all levels in the current season, and also simultaneously unveiled the solutions for the clubs' unpaid salary problems and the corresponding The Federation also simultaneously unveiled the solutions to the problem of unpaid wages and the corresponding penalties for clubs.
It is reported that a total of 18, 17 and 22 clubs in the 2022 season of the Chinese Super League, the Chinese League A and the Chinese League B have successfully passed the access audit. However, Guizhou Central League 1 Football Club and Central League 2 Sichuan Minzu Football Club regretted to fall out of the competition because they failed to meet the access conditions. The Guizhou club failed to meet the AFC's access criteria due to unresolved international wage arrears, while the Sichuan Minzu Football Club likewise failed to gain access for the new season due to failing to submit relevant access materials on time.
It is worth mentioning that Jinan Xingzhou Football Club, Nantong Haimen Kejiayuan Football Club, Tai'an Tian Kuang Football Club, Hainan Star Professional Football Club and Wuhan Jiangcheng Football Club, which participated in the Chinese Championship League last season, all successfully gained the qualification for the new season's Chinese B League.
Next, the CFA and CFF preparatory team will finalize the teams for all levels of professional leagues based on the actual situation of the clubs' participation confirmation.
In response to the problem of salary arrears in some clubs, CFA has launched a phased program to solve the problem of salary arrears, taking into account the interests of players and the actual situation of clubs. The program aims to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of players, coaches and club staff, and urge the clubs to solve the problem of salary arrears as soon as possible, and at the same time, taking into account the actual operating conditions of the clubs, give a certain time limit for the solution, so as to enable the clubs to raise funds, improve their operating conditions, and promote the reform with the help of the power of the local government and the social circles.
According to this program, some clubs with wage arrears problems are also conditionally granted access after submitting specific wage arrears solutions. At the same time, in order to ensure the interests of the players, the CFA has formulated a corresponding solution to the wage arrears and supporting penalties for such clubs.
The CFA clearly requires that clubs should not have new wage arrears in the 2022 season. For the salary arrears in the 2021 season and before, three time nodes were set: 30% of the total salary arrears to be resolved before July 31, 2022; 70% of the total salary arrears to be resolved before October 31; and all salary arrears to be resolved before December 31. In the above three time nodes, the relevant clubs must submit to the CFA all coaches, players, staff signed the salary arrears repayment form. At the same time, the CFA has also clarified the corresponding penalties:
i. Clubs that fail to complete the repayment of 30% of the total amount of salary arrears by July 31, 2022 will be prohibited from registering new players in the second transfer window of the 2022 season and will be deducted three league points.
Second, clubs that fail to complete repayment of 70% of the total amount of salary arrears by October 31, 2022, will be deducted six league points.
Thirdly, clubs that fail to settle all salary arrears by December 31, 2022 will face relegation or disqualification from admission.
For those Chinese Super League clubs that are unable to fully resolve the issue of unpaid wages before December 31, 2022, the clubs must reach a settlement agreement with the persons whose wages are owed to them and sign a confirmation with each of the persons whose wages are owed to them and submit it to the CFA for record. Clubs that fail to resolve the wage arrears in accordance with the time points set out in the filed agreement will be penalized by reference to the above penalty rules.
