At the end of October, on the eve of the Super League showdown, Rongcheng drew 1-1 with West Coast on the road, a crucial result that locked Rongcheng into the third place in the league a round earlier and meant that Rongcheng entered the AFC Champions League for the first time in the team's history.
The history of Rongcheng soccer began in March 2018, when it was still named Chengdu Xingcheng. After three years of precipitation, in January 2021, the club officially changed its name to Chengdu Rongcheng.
From 2018 to 2019, Hibiscus made a three-stage jump in the league, spanning the Champions League, League B and League A. In 2021, the team managed to get promoted to the Super League and finished fifth in the league in its inaugural season in 2022, before climbing to fourth last season.
In a season where Hibiscus were aiming for third place in the league, that goal has been achieved. Meanwhile, the FA Cup campaign has reached the semi-finals and is full of promise.
However, whether Hibiscus will be able to play in the AFC Elite League next season or only in the AFC Second Division will all have to wait for the FA Cup final to be revealed next month.
According to the rules, the Super League champions will go straight to the AFC Elite League, while the runners-up will have to fight for qualification through a play-off, and the third place will get a direct ticket to the second tier of the AFC Champions League. However, if the winner of the FA Cup already occupies a top-three position in the league, the third place in the league will qualify for the play-offs, while the fourth place will go straight to the second tier of the league.
The final of this season's FA Cup will be between Seaport and Taishan, and Seaport has already locked up the top two spots, meaning that the winner of the final will directly determine the qualification for the AFC Champions League.
1) If Seaport wins the title, Hibiscus will qualify for the AFC Elite League playoffs, while the fourth-place finisher in the Super League will advance to the second tier of the AFC Champions League.
② If Tarzan asks for the win, Tarzan will directly qualify for the AFC Elite League, while Rongcheng will qualify for the main round of the AFC Tier II League.
