Although the Chinese Super League is in the off-season, the clubs are not idle. In order to return to the game next year, you must first obtain permission from the Football Association.
It is rumored that the Football Association has introduced a stricter AFC access mechanism this year, requiring clubs to submit more detailed documents than ever before. As a result, every club must be careful when applying for qualification, and any negligence may be rejected for not meeting the system's criteria. If the AFC does not approve the application, they are afraid that they will not be able to escape the fate of the Chinese Super League next season.
Since the "golden dollar soccer" bubble burst, the Chinese Super League has been going downhill. People always think that the league has reached the bottom, but in fact the situation may be even more serious in the coming year.
Affected by the real estate market downturn, the Football Association has introduced a number of policies in the past two years. Today, most clubs in the Chinese Super League are not having a good time. According to the soccer media, only three of the 16 teams in the Chinese Super League this season have no salary arrears.
Even former giants such as Beijing Guoan are now in dire straits and in debt. The parent company, Sino Group, is strapped for cash, and if it were not for the support of the municipal government, it would be difficult to pay the salaries of players and coaches.
Beijing Guoan had been the rival of Guangzhou Evergrande, and the situation of other clubs is not optimistic. Zhejiang, Wuhan Three Town, Cangzhou Lions, Dalian and Shenzhen teams were exposed to possible dissolution next year. Some clubs hosted by the Sports Bureau are feared to be difficult to maintain once they lose support.
Against this backdrop, many clubs were unable to submit their access materials on time. As in the past, the FA has extended the submission deadline. But even so, like Shenzhen, a club with a debt of 3.5 billion dollars, even if it is extended for another month, it is difficult to sustain.
In addition to the internal problems of the club, the Shenzhen team is also affected by the external environment. The national soccer team has not entered the World Cup for many years, and the level is deteriorating, and the Chinese women's soccer team is following in its footsteps.
In this situation, Chinese soccer has fallen into a new low, the enthusiasm of fans and media has been sharply reduced, and the attention of the league is far weaker than that in the period of "Golden Dollar Soccer". In addition, the neutral policy of the Football Association (FA) has reduced the willingness of enterprises to invest in soccer. Without corporate funding, clubs can hardly survive on their own and face the risk of dissolution.
As a result, some people in the soccer industry believe that the Chinese Super League has not yet bottomed out, and the clubs may have an even harder time next year. The only way to reduce team costs is for veterans to retire and new stars to rise to the top.
In other words, it will take three to four years of gradual rationalization of the remuneration structure of clubs before they can achieve financial equilibrium. Before then, some clubs may announce their dissolution due to their inability to support themselves.
As a result, the Chinese Super League may face more dissolved clubs in the next two years. If there are no new clubs to add to the Chinese League A, the league's size is likely to be further reduced. In extreme cases, it may even go back to the size of 12 teams in the first year of the A...
