On November 4, Guizhou soccer world set off a storm, the players jointly issued a plea to harmonize the issue of salary arrears. They revealed that the club owes 14 and a half months of salary, and urgently hope that the relevant departments to intervene in mediation. However, this incident did not provoke a wide range of public opinion, the reason is obvious: in the field of national football, unpaid wages is not new.
On October 26, Hebei Football Club announced a work stoppage and vacation due to business difficulties, and the players are facing huge salary arrears. According to the survey, about half of the teams in the Chinese Super League have salary arrears, although this figure may be a conservative estimate, only three or four clubs in the Chinese Super League do not have salary arrears.
Most of the Chinese Super League clubs have shown signs of being out of their depth due to the mismanagement of their parent companies. Some clubs that are still paying salaries are also feeling the pressure and have even canceled some of the supplementary contracts they signed with players. The players may not be able to recover these payments as they have not been filed with the FA. Nonetheless, they still feel fortunate because most of the Chinese Super League teams, unpaid wages have become the norm.
The problem of salary arrears in the Chinese Super League stems largely from the influence of "gold dollar soccer". Although the players have taken a pay cut, the clubs are still unable to afford it. Under the epidemic, the parent companies of the Chinese Super League teams have suffered a serious decline in their ability to operate, making it unprofitable to invest in soccer, so it makes sense to give up investment.
Sports authorities around the world have also tried a variety of methods, such as mixed ownership reform, including the Hebei team and Chongqing Two Rivers Athletic Team. However, in terms of actual results, the reform has been temporarily blocked, not only because of the different situations around the world, but also because the Chinese Super League's tournament system is unable to bring advertising effects to the region, and the neutral name reform has also been highly controversial.
Under the impact of the Top 12, the road of the Chinese Super League is exceptionally bumpy, and the brand effect has plummeted, resulting in almost zero income for the teams. Teams can't make ends meet, and wage arrears have become inevitable. Now, sporadic wage arrears incidents have gradually evolved into large-scale wage arrears, the national soccer soccer is facing an unprecedented crisis.
To some extent, the salaries of Chinese players have not yet reached a reasonable range, and the level of investment of some Chinese League One clubs that want to break through to the Super League is still very high. For several consecutive seasons, the Football Association has issued a salary limit, but the implementation is extremely difficult. The initial crazy investment has now paid a terrible price.
How to solve the problem of wage arrears, the Football Association must think about countermeasures. On the one hand, it should avoid panic withdrawal of investors, and on the other hand, it should set a timetable to deal with the problem of salary arrears. At present, whether the Chinese Super League can put together 16 teams in the second phase of the competition has become a real problem. It is important to realize that some teams are even on the verge of disbanding.
Not making it to the World Cup is not the worst outcome for the national soccer team. Once the league collapses across the board, that's the most worrying thing.
