The “shocking” collapse of champions Jiangsu is a watershed for Chinese soccer that should prompt a rethink from top to bottom, state media said.
Jiangsu, who are owned by the conglomerate Suning — which also owns Italy’s Inter — on Sunday said that they would “cease operations,” three months after winning the Chinese Super League title for the first time.
The announcement underlines the financial problems coursing through the league that could also see the Tianjin Tigers fold this week.
Photo: AFP
It also highlights the declining fortunes of a league that repeatedly smashed the Asian transfer record just a few years ago, attracting a number of foreign stars.
Many have since left.
“It seems incredible and shocking, but it feels like the dust has now settled,” Xinhua news agency said following the announcement by Jiangsu, who have not yet dissolved and are seeking a financial lifeline.
Xinhua said that 16 teams across three tiers of Chinese professional soccer folded last year.
The Chinese Super League gained a reputation for luring star players with hefty wages and exorbitant transfer fees — then-Shanghai SIPG signed Oscar from Chelsea in 2017 for an Asian-record 60 million euros (US$72.3 million at the current exchange rate).
The Chinese Football Association has since brought in a raft of measures to cool spending, including a 100 percent transfer tax and salary caps.
It said yesterday that it was “sorry to hear” about Jiangsu, but respected the club’s decision, and vowed to plow on with its attempts to make China a leading soccer power.
However, times are tough for Chinese clubs, where money began to dry up even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The most important thing at the moment is to ... reload and start again, rather than being lost in confusion or remorse,” Xinhua said. “To some extent it is a good thing that the bubble has burst earlier [than expected]. Chinese professional football has ushered in its first ‘watershed’ after its high-speed, wild growth. Respect the laws of football, respect the laws of the market, adhere to youth training and work for the long term.”
The Beijing Youth Daily said that the implosion of Jiangsu, who are based in Nanjing, was an opportunity for renewal.
“Where does Chinese football go from here?” it said. “Experts say that to solve the predicament of Chinese football it must be overthrown and reconstructed.”
“Chinese football, the promotion of it and youth training all need to be reassessed,” the newspaper said.
The new Chinese Super League season, which will almost certainly be shorn of Jiangsu and Tianjin, is expected to start next month, but there is no definite date because of uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.
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