On April 1st in the spring, the official order of the Central League, Chengdu was once again honored as the venue of the tournament, and Dalian, side by side, to build a new chapter in the Central League, where nearly 100 clubs will be staged a hundred games of fierce battle.
However, why does Dalian shoulder the burden without a home game? It all has to do with Chengdu's green field. Since the bidding in January, Chengdu's turf problem has been like the sword of Damocles, hanging in the balance, and is still under urgent renovation.
Why did Chengdu come out on top despite the pending turf issue? The answer is revealed, and it turns out that apart from the hardware issues, Chengdu's past performances have been just as good.
Text | KWOK KI
In 2020, the epidemic ravaged the Chinese League A and was forced to change to a tournament system. In July last year, the CFA launched a visit to a number of cities to compete, and Chengdu won the right to host the first stage of the divisional group matches with hot enthusiasm and thorough preparations, blowing the horn of the new season at Shuangliu Stadium. Since then, in the course of the tournament, Chengdu has shown dedication and professionalism, successfully organizing the key events for the Super League.
With regard to the first time hosting a Chinese League One match city, Chengdu's performance was perfect, with no mistakes made in all the matches, which shows its professionalism. This year, this successful experience puts Chengdu ahead of other bidding cities.
Last year, Chengdu hosted 45 matches in just 70 days in the Middle League, with three stadiums - Shuangliu, Longquan and Dujiangyan - taking turns in staging fierce battles that consumed the venues immensely. However, Chengdu successfully accomplished the arduous task of protecting and ensuring the smooth running of the tournament. Meanwhile, Wenjiang Base and Sheffield United Soccer Park, which served as training bases, also hosted some of the matches while ensuring team training.
If turf is the big issue at the moment, then Chengdu has proved with last year's practical actions that professionals are the key to solving the problem.
During last year's tournament, the Chengdu Organizing Committee held morning meetings every day, and because of the epidemic, video conferencing was added. From the instructions of CFA, to the requirements of each team, to the security management of the stadium, the organizing committee went into every aspect and grasped every detail. At the same time, in order to facilitate the operation during the epidemic prevention and control, the organizing committee has set up different divisions, in which the blue zone of the operation staff did not return home for a whole month. Their professionalism and enthusiasm is the best evaluation of their "love for one's profession".
Because of the epidemic under the tournament system, Chengdu in the two stages of last year's tournament, the cumulative reception of 12 Chinese League One clubs, 500 working players, coaches, eating and living together for 70 days. Accommodation for the moment is considered a small problem, the diet is the most influential factor on the athletes, players from all over the world, the taste of each dish, nutritional matching is not an easy task. And health care is the basic equipment, the local health commission in the hotel physician 24 hours a day, the players early morning abdominal pain, emergency hospitalization to shoot ct and other situations are commonplace. At the same time, the organizing committee specifically purchased two sets of 500 kilograms of ice machine placed in the hotel, 24 hours for the team to provide ice.
The large-scale conference system of competition is not only reflected in the field of play, but also off the field is even more detailed. Fans are the soul of professional soccer, and in an epidemic situation, it's not as simple as selling tickets and letting fans into the stadium, but it's even more difficult to take into account the atmosphere. But Chengdu, known as the "Gold Medal City", has always been able to work wonders, with giant flags waving, team songs and chants resonating in the stadium. In the closing stages of the league, the topic of whether Chengdu could make it to the Premier League continued to ferment, not only in Chengdu, but also in the whole country has aroused widespread concern. No one would have thought that a soccer match in the Middle League under the epidemic could still be so enthusiastic.
As we can see from last year's Central League, Chengdu, which has repeatedly hosted international competitions, not only has excellent venue hardware, but also has a professional tournament organization and operation team. The smooth communication between the local government and the relevant soccer management organizations has contributed to the smooth running of the league. As a result, this year's China League has once again settled in Chengdu.
Currently, the official schedule of the Chinese League has not yet been announced, and it is not yet known how the Dalian-Chengdu tournament will be divided. But from the input, the tournament city and the Chinese Super League seat, Chengdu is imperative.
