The delegation formed by the National Football Association (NFA) and the preparatory group of the Chinese Football League (CFL) conducted a comprehensive review on May 10 of Haikou as a prime candidate to become the third division of the Chinese Super League for the new season. A Beijing Youth Daily reporter revealed that while contacting Haikou, the organizers also actively sought the possibility of Chengdu to host the Chinese Super League tournament and contacted the relevant departments in Chengdu.
The Chengdu Municipal Sports Bureau and the Chengdu Municipal Football Association have shown strong interest in hosting the tournament, but it requires the approval of government departments such as health epidemiology and public security, which is a cumbersome and time-consuming procedure. Therefore, from the point of view of the tight preparation time, Haikou is more likely to become the third tournament area.
After Rizhao made it clear that it would not be able to host the first phase of the new Chinese Super League season, the National Football Association (NFA) and the CFF preparatory team quickly contacted other candidate cities, with Haikou and Chengdu becoming the main candidates.
In fact, after the news of the postponement of the 31st World University Games was confirmed, Chengdu City was in a position to host the soccer event in terms of time and venue conditions. The Chengdu Municipal Sports Bureau and Football Association also showed a positive attitude towards hosting the Super League tournament when communicating with the National Football Association and the preparatory team of the Chinese Football League. Chengdu had successfully hosted last season's AFC Cup final and Chengdu Rongcheng was promoted to the Chinese Super League in the new season. What's more, Chengdu's venue and weather conditions are ideal for summer soccer tournaments.
However, candidate cities for the tournament have to be approved by the local government. As of noon on May 11, the organizers have not yet understood the attitude of the local health epidemic prevention and public security departments, and it is not clear whether the local government has approved the hosting of the Chinese Super League tournament. Therefore, the organizers also said that unless the local government gives a clear attitude to host the tournament within the past two days, the possibility of Chengdu hosting the first stage of the Super League is very small.
As a result, the city of Haikou, with its quality venues and hotel conditions, is still expected to be the third Chinese Super League (CSL) match city for the new season. It is reported that the main challenges facing Haikou are the hot and humid climate in the area and the fact that the main venues, apart from Wuyuanhe Stadium, are concentrated within the Mission Hills base. Necessary renovations will still be required once it is used for Chinese Super League matches. From this perspective, the organizers are under considerable time pressure. The decision makers need to make a quick decision on the choice of venue to ensure that the opening proposal can be approved by the higher management as soon as possible.
