Hibiscus shook hands with West Coast 1-1 on the road in the Super League finale on Oct. 27, locking up third place in the league and advancing to the AFC Champions League battlefield for the first time in team history.
Chengdu Rongcheng Club was founded in March 2018, formerly known as Chengdu Xingcheng. After some twists and turns, the name was officially changed in January 2021 to Chengdu Rongcheng.
In just a few years, Chengdu Rongcheng realized the league's "triple jump", from the Champions League in 2018, to the second division in 2019, and then to the first division in 2021. 2022, the team was successfully promoted to the Chinese Super League, ranked fifth in the first season, and climbed to the fourth last season.
This season, Chengdu Rongcheng set a goal of finishing third in the league and successfully reached it. Meanwhile, the FA Cup team also reached the semi-finals.
However, whether Hibiscus will play in the AFC Elite League or the AFC Second Division next season all depends on the outcome of next month's FA Cup final.
According to the rules, the Super League champions will qualify for the AFC Elite League, while the runners-up will have to compete in a play-off. The third place, on the other hand, is directly promoted to the AFC Champions League II.
It is worth noting that the FA Cup winner also qualifies for the AFC Elite League. If the FA Cup winners overlap with the top three in the league, the third place in the league will qualify for the play-offs, while the fourth place will go directly to the AFC Champions League II.
The final of this season's FA Cup will see Seaport and Taishan battle it out. Given that Seaport has already locked up the top two spots, the outcome of the final will determine the different teams' qualification for the AFC Champions League:
①Warning in the harbor
Third place in the Chinese Super League and qualification for the AFC Elite League play-offs
Fourth place in the Chinese Super League and qualification for the second tier of the AFC Champions League
②Winning the Championship like Tarzan
Taishan, AFC Elite League qualification
Third place in the Chinese Super League and qualification for the second tier of the AFC Champions League
