The 2023 Chinese Super League, penned by Chen Yong, is in the midst of an economic transition, with survival and growth in the spotlight, a topic that will continue to be hotly debated for at least the next two to three years. In the competitive field, the Chinese Super League has shown a positive trend, with an increase in the intensity of matches and the commitment of players. However, due to conditions such as investment and youth training, it will take time for the Chinese Super League's competitive level to recover, a process that requires gradual improvement.
The road ahead is long, but the light is on the horizon. 4,763,464 passionate fans were welcomed to the Chinese Super League in the 2023 season. In terms of club markets, Beijing Guoan and Chengdu Rongcheng were hard to find tickets, while Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua were equally hot, creating a bustling scene. Clubs such as Qingdao Hainiu and Dalian Ren also performed well, with 13 of the 16 clubs averaging more than 15,000 spectators.
The enthusiastic return of the fans heralds the prosperous development of the Chinese Super League. The government should also give more attention and support because the cheers of the fans are the best proof.
With the support of many fans, Beijing Guoan and Chengdu Rongcheng have become the "gold medal markets" in the hearts of spectators, with the two clubs accounting for nearly a quarter of the 4.76 million spectators, with Beijing Guoan attracting 656,531 and Chengdu Rongcheng attracting 520,590 for their 15 home matches. It is worth mentioning that Chengdu Rongcheng has yet to play three matches at the Phoenix Hill Professional Football Stadium due to the impact of the Universiade. If all the matches had been played at the venue, Chengdu Rongcheng's fan figures could have reached a staggering 580,000 trips.
Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Shandong Taishan have home crowds of more than 400,000, while Shanghai Shenhua has close to 400,000. These teams, along with Beijing Guoan and Chengdu Rongcheng, make up the five "gold medal markets" for the 2023 Chinese Super League. In addition, eight other teams, including Dalian Ren, Qingdao Hainiu, Henan, Changchun Yatai, Wuhan Sanzhen, Shanghai Harbor, Nantong Zhiyun, and Meizhou Hakka, have an average audience of more than 220,000 people.
However, not all teams enjoyed such heat. Teams such as Zhejiang, Cangzhou Lions and Shenzhen had relatively low attendance. In particular, Zhejiang, whose team has been playing in Huzhou due to the Asian Games, has a relatively small population and a weak fan base, making it difficult to boost attendance. Cangzhou Lions' lack of fan identification after relocating from Shijiazhuang to Cangzhou, coupled with economic issues, has also affected attendance. Shenzhen locked up their relegation spot early on, and most of their matches ended in losses, but even so, fan attendance still averaged nearly 8,000, which is pretty good.
Nonetheless, the Chinese Super League (CSL) market for the 2023 season has been relatively stable overall. Tickets for the matches between Beijing Guoan and Chengdu Rongcheng were hard to come by, reflecting the potential of the Chinese Super League market. The construction of professional soccer stadiums has also provided strong support for the development of the Chinese Super League. Apart from Shandong Taishan, all other clubs in the top five gold-medal markets have professional stadiums. Dalian Ren and Qingdao Hainiu have also achieved remarkable results in these two areas, with Dalian Barracuda Bay professional soccer stadium having reached 30,000 Dalian spectators, compared to 14,000 and 12,000 at Dalian Sports Center and Puwan Stadium, respectively. The average seating capacity of Tianjin Jinmen Tigers in the main city (Olympic Stadium) and the new district (TEDA Professional Football Stadium) is quite close, which also reflects the attractiveness of professional stadiums.
The enthusiastic return of fans not only brings joy, but also promotes the innovation of sports culture. The colors of stadiums gradually tend to be unified, such as the green of Beijing Gongtai Stadium and the orange of Jinan Olympic Stadium, which bring wonderful visual enjoyment to the audience. In addition, the culture of special fans has become increasingly rich, with the post-game chorus and light show represented by Phoenix Hill in Chengdu, giving soccer matches the marvelous feeling of a concert. In the North Stand of Jinan Olympic Stadium, the "weareone" thank-you ceremony was even more exciting.
Feng Wenjing, deputy general manager of Qingdao Manatee Business, said that when he negotiated with several Qingdao companies at the beginning of the season, the other party just said "let's see", but at the end of the season, they said that they could have a good chat after the season. The reason is simple: nearly 270,000 people attended the games at the Youth Soccer Stadium. There were 33,000 people in attendance at Three Town and nearly 30,000 at the Qilu Derby. At the matches of Harbor, Guoan and Rongcheng, the crowd was about 25,000 people. All these figures provide opportunities for potential sponsors.
Sponsor negotiations for the Chinese Super League were bogged down for a while at the beginning of the season, but as the season progressed, potential sponsors began to show interest. Currently, Beijing Guoan and Chengdu Rongcheng's gate receipts (including other matches) should satisfy the clubs. Ticket revenues for Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua are expected to be in the range of $50 million to $80 million.
In the face of the Chinese Super League's current economic woes, reasonable policy support and local government backing is crucial. However, the ultimate development of the professional league still needs to be linked to the market. If the market can rise steadily in the future, the economic plight of the Chinese Super League will undoubtedly be alleviated, which will bring more "internal motivation".
Indeed, even when policy support and local government support is sought, more fans mean a more important voice. Governments are naturally willing to support what the people love.
For the 2024 season, the CFL and Chinese Super League clubs still have a lot of work to do: introduce more reasonable and detailed business plans to enhance the attractiveness to small and medium-sized sponsors; reduce commercial restrictions and security restrictions to activate the matchday economy in all aspects; introduce more detailed and experiential fan services to make watching football together as a family, with parents and children, and with friends, including commercial football, mainstream and fashionable.
On the basis of the fans, Chinese professional soccer will completely say goodbye to gold dollar soccer (or even call it "gold master soccer"), reduce the dependence on "policy soccer" and "government soccer" (hopefully support but not rely on), and embrace more market and develop steadily. (I hope to support but not rely on), and then embrace more markets and develop steadily.
