With the approach of the Top 12 tournament and the implementation of the anti-epidemic policy, it is almost impossible for our players to commit to the league in September, October and November. The reason is that the AFC has made it clear that the 12-team tournament will adopt a home-and-away system, and these three months coincide with international match days (September 2 and 7, October 7 and 12, and November 11 and 16), so the national football team needs to assemble and prepare for the match 7 to 14 days in advance, with a 6-day gap between each international match day, and then needs to carry out a 17- to 21-day quarantine against epidemics (usually 14 days + 7 days, but in the case of a home game). The actual quarantine period may be as early as 4 days before the end of the match, depending on the last entry time of the opponent). In total, each training session takes at least 30 days, which leaves little time for the players to participate in the league.
While the training and preparation of the national soccer team is unaffected, the scheduling of the league is facing major challenges.
The 30 rounds of league matches scheduled for the 2021 season have become extremely tight due to player unavailability. Players were unable to return to their clubs from late August to the end of November, and the remaining fixtures were limited to late July to late August and early December to mid-January 2022 if the league was to remain intact. However, with the launch of the 12-team tournament in late January, this plan became increasingly difficult.
In order to prepare for the Top 12 ahead of time, the national soccer team plans to play a maximum of about 30 days of matches from late July to mid-August, meaning the league may only be able to play six rounds. The integrity of the 22-round league is threatened by the fact that there will be a maximum of 40 days between early December and mid-January 2022, when only eight matches can be played.
Therefore, the Chinese Super League can only consider a single round of 15 rounds. As for the months of September, October and November, the CFA and the preparatory team plan to organize FA Cup matches.
Chen Xuyuan, president of the CFA, said in an interview, "Regarding the organization of the league, we have to follow two principles. First, the league is the cornerstone of the national soccer team, and the league cannot be sacrificed because of the national team. Secondly, the Chinese Super League cannot be interrupted during the national team's preparations and matches, and the league without the participation of the national team players will lose a lot of its significance."
However, the split has had a negative impact on the league beyond the absence of players - after all, the 2020 Premier League season is crippled. If the 2021 season remains crippled, the enthusiasm of clubs and fans will be hit hard. As for the AFC Cup during the Top 12, some clubs may only play one match, which is not very meaningful.
In this case, a more appropriate option might be to not suspend the league during the Big 12 tournament.
That is to say, the Chinese Super League this year still have to play a full 30 rounds of matches, from the second half of July to start normal, of which the first half of September (the two match days of the 12 match, that is, September 2 and 7) suspended about 7 to 10 days, the middle of November (November 11 and 16) suspended about 7 to 10 days, so that three stages of a total of 25 rounds of matches (9 + 8 + 8), the AFC Cup will be carried out on an opportune basis.
The internationals will be involved in their normal late July to late August matches and then will not be involved in the league.
Although this program has a greater impact on the clubs that drafted international players, especially Taishan, Guangzhou, Guoan and Seaport, these four teams do not fall into the relegation team (international players still need to participate in the league in July to August), the impact may only be the opportunity to win the title, as for the relegation team, usually up to 1 international player, the impact is not very big.
This scenario, while detrimental to the 4 giants, is actually very beneficial:
For one thing, the league is no longer cut and dried, otherwise a three-month suspension of the league is just too much damage, and two years in a row of incomplete leagues is even more damage;
Secondly, fans can have a steady stream of Chinese Super League matches, and even the 4 most affected giants can continue to scout and develop young players.
Thirdly, it is very important and crucial that players, especially young players, can be trained by the system in a stable manner.
Fourth, the 12 strong does not rule out the occurrence of unforeseen circumstances, such as changes in the epidemic and become a tournament system, when the international players can return to their clubs to participate in the tournament.
Fifthly, stick to 30 rounds of league games and also liberalize home and away matches where appropriate.
Of course, the interests of the four giants are affected more, but the lesser of two evils, the CFA only need to communicate fully with the four giants, while introducing some policies (such as the recruitment of four or more international players, the opponent can only 2 +1 foreign aid; recruitment of two to three international players, the opponent can only 3 +1 foreign aid; recruitment of one international player, the opponent can only 4 foreign aid or 3 +1 foreign aid) to give compensation.
Of course, many mouths are hard to reconcile, the reporter also understands that, regarding the league, the distance between the different clubs' demands is also relatively large. If the above program can not be recognized, the international players must participate in the league, then there is a compromise program, that is, it is necessary to make the FA Cup a little more enthusiastic, as far as possible to ensure that each team has more participation. For example, according to the situation of the participating teams, in the top 32 and the top 16 of the time to take the group system, so as to ensure that the team as much as possible to participate in the game, but also to ensure that the fans of the participation of the demand.
However, on the whole, it is still recommended that the CFA and the preparatory team for the working league can play the league as normal in September, October and November after full negotiation with the clubs.
