Recently, a number of cities in China, including certain home cities of the operational leagues, have been hit again by the new crown epidemic, which shows that the situation of epidemic prevention and control in China is still serious. Although the CFA and CFF are doing their best to promote the preparations for the new Chinese Super League season and strictly follow the set start date of April 23rd, the impact of the epidemic has made it impossible for some cities to meet the conditions for teams to play their home matches for the time being. In the face of this unexpected situation, the CFA and CFF had to make contingency plans, even consider the possibility that "the home and away match system of the Chinese Super League can not be resumed for the time being", and make preparations.
According to the latest news, the new Chinese Super League season is expected to start on time on April 23rd. However, due to the epidemic, the first phase of the league may have to adopt the match system. According to the latest communication between the organizers and relevant parties, if the matches can be played on April 23, the first phase of the tournament will be played in eight rounds before the start of the FIFA International Match Day cycle at the end of May. According to the proposed "conference system", the 18 teams will be divided into three groups and play eight rounds of matches in three different cities. Whether the home-and-away system can be resumed at a later stage will depend on the actual situation of the epidemic and the prevention of the epidemic in the country.
In view of the proposal already contains "the continuation of the tournament system" content, the Chinese Football Association and the preparatory group of the CFA on the screening of candidate tournaments is imminent. According to the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, this work has been initiated. The CFF preparatory team has already contacted some candidate cities and exchanged views.
Informed sources revealed that the screening of candidate tournament zones must meet several prerequisites. On the one hand, the local government must support the tournament; on the other hand, it is best for the candidate cities to have professional teams, especially the Chinese Super League team, or the development of soccer is more ideal. More importantly, the epidemic prevention and control measures in the candidate cities must be effective to ensure the health and safety of the participants.
It is reported that a number of cities, including Guangzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an and Hangzhou, have entered the survey field of view of the CFA and the preparatory group of the CFF. Some of these cities have accumulated rich experience in organizing professional league tournament matches, some have better soccer development, and some have advanced, sufficient and complete hardware conditions such as venue facilities. It is certain that if the first phase of the Chinese Super League adopts the tournament system, the organizers will execute at least three alternative tournaments. With only one month left before the set kick-off date, time is running out for all aspects of the work to be executed. Despite the difficulties, the CFA and the CFL preparatory team, from the perspective of protecting the overall interests of domestic professional soccer, ensuring the integrity of the schedule, and guaranteeing the fairness of the game, will do their best to ensure that the new season of the Chinese Super League will be able to complete the 34 rounds of matches, and that the tournament's home-and-away system will be restored as soon as possible if the conditions allow it.
