This phenomenon is becoming more and more apparent in both the F.A.C. Cup and the league. In the F.A.C. Cup, for example, Taishan, Henan, Shenhua and Seaport, which are now in the quarterfinals, are all solidly run clubs, at least in terms of wage arrears, and have no serious problems. In the Chinese Super League, the top two teams in Guangzhou and Suzhou - Taishan, Guangzhou, Seaport and Yatai - have also not been in a situation of unpaid wages, with Guangzhou's financial problems only coming to light at the end of the first phase of the Chinese Super League.
May as well say, the current Chinese soccer, not salary arrears has been the first competitiveness. If we can comprehensively solve the problem of salary arrears, the development of Chinese soccer will naturally be on the right track, including youth training and many other issues will also be solved. It is gratifying that the higher level of concern for the development of Chinese soccer has realized this core contradiction. Over the past period of time, the promotion of mixed ownership reform has never stopped, and relevant organizations and authoritative media have also conducted a full range of research on diversification and mixed ownership reform. Some clubs have carried out mixed ownership reform, such as Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic Club, which just completed the reform a month ago. It is reported that the research on mixed ownership reform is still in progress.
However, the promotion of the mixed ownership reform still needs the support of the national level policy, because the reform involves more than just the sports authorities. At present, the mixed ownership reforms of Chongqing, Qingdao and Hebei teams are facing difficulties or are in a state of stagnation, which on the one hand has to do with the attitude of the local government, and on the other hand, I'm afraid that it also has to do with the lack of clear guidance from the national policy.
We must say to the CFA, even if the national football team's performance is the most concerned fans, even if the national football team's poor performance so that the Association has been under enormous pressure, but the Association wants to really make a difference, the focus must not be placed only on the national football team, and should be in the solution to the problem of arrears of wages on the basis of the overall planning, to develop a clear timetable.
Unpaid wages are a consequence of the bursting of the Chinese soccer bubble, and when the soccer bubble bursts, panic will follow, leading to panic withdrawal of investors. In this context, to stop the panic withdrawal is naturally the first response to the current strategy. In fact, from last year to the present, the relevant departments and the Football Association has done a lot of work is to prevent investors from leaving the field, for this reason, not hesitate to in arrears of wages on the issue of investors and clubs to open up the net.
While stabilizing the situation is important, development is the key. Development should not be sacrificed for the sake of stability, nor should unprincipled concessions be made or the system be disregarded for the sake of maintaining stability, nor should we get by because of the apparent smoothness of the situation. It is important to realize that, after stopping panic withdrawals, the next task has changed: to make every effort to solve the problem of unpaid wages.
More simply put, the FA needs to use a timetable of about three years to deal with the issue of unpaid wages in the context of cooperation at the national level:
1. In 2022, the Football Association should take the settlement of wage arrears as its central task, communicate comprehensively with clubs, local sports bureaus and local governments, and help clubs to complete shareholding reform as soon as possible. Previously, unpaid wages were borne by independent companies, and each club with unpaid wages was required to formulate a timetable for the unpaid wage handling program, for example, clearly stipulating that the situation of unpaid wages will not be allowed to exist in 2024, and at the same time, the penalties for unpaid wages should be sorted out and improved;
2. In 2023, the Football Association is going to tighten up the penalties for clubs with wage arrears and penalize accordingly clubs with multiple wage arrears over a number of years or consecutive wage arrears of more than six months or more as a warning to others. At the same time, this is also the finishing year for historical wage arrears;
3. In 2024, wage arrears will be prohibited. More importantly, instead of sticking to the so-called "salary and bonus confirmation form", clubs will be audited twice a year, and penalties such as deduction of points, relegation and disqualification will be imposed depending on the severity of the unpaid wages found.
Even if only half of the clubs left in China's professional soccer league are free of unpaid wages in the end, it will at least be a healthy professional league and a healthy Chinese soccer. More importantly, the state attaches importance to soccer, and the development of the sports industry (including the soccer industry) must be an important force in China's economic development. From this, the relevant parties and the CFA should have the courage to rectify the phenomenon of unpaid wages.
