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.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
RSS