On April 3, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) publicly released a document approving the qualification of 18 Chinese Super League clubs, 17 Chinese First Division clubs and 22 Chinese Second Division clubs. However, the Guizhou team from the First Division unfortunately lost the qualification for this season due to its failure to meet the AFC's entry criteria and its longstanding failure to resolve the issue of unpaid wages of its players.
Guizhou, once a bright pearl in the Chinese Super League, is now in a saddening situation. In addition to the international salary arrears fiasco, the salary arrears situation of local players within the team cannot be ignored. In November last year, some Guizhou players spoke out publicly on social media, calling on the relevant departments to intervene and assist them in claiming their outstanding salaries from the club. According to the players, the club owed 14 and a half months of salary, as well as some bonuses and performance bonuses for the 2019 season so far, and refused to send a team to play. The issue has never been properly resolved despite the club's subsequent promises and public debunking of the rumors.
According to the team's previous internal documents, by the end of 2020, the total amount of salary and bonuses owed by Guizhou has amounted to more than 71.4 million yuan, including about 10.15 million yuan of coaches' salaries and 61.25 million yuan of players' salaries. Together with the arrears in 2021, the total amount may approach 100 million yuan. It is reported that the vast majority of arrears in salary for Guizhou's players and coaches have yet to be paid. In the face of access failure and the possible disbandment of the team, the players may face the embarrassing situation of not being able to collect their salaries. The salary contracts of some players have been transferred to Hengfeng Group, and they have hired lawyers to prepare to file lawsuits to the court. Moreover, the relevant court in Guiyang City has accepted the case and is expected to choose a public court date.
