After two years of playing the “match system” league, whether the Chinese Football Professional League can restart the home and away game system this season is the focus of attention of the industry. In late February, the Chinese Football Association issued the “Commercial Letter on the Resumption of Home and Away Matches of the Professional League in the 2022 Season” to its affiliated professional clubs and relevant member associations, seeking opinions from all parties on the resumption of home and away games. At present, the replies from all parties have been handed in. In the Chinese Football Association. Regarding the resumption of home and away games this season, a relevant person from the China Football Federation expressed a cautiously optimistic attitude in an interview with Sohu Sports: “It is very difficult, but it is not hopeless. As long as everyone works hard in this direction, the prospects are relatively optimistic. “
The Chinese Football Federation fully promotes home and away games
At present, the Chinese Football Federation has collected and sorted out the relevant opinions of various clubs to determine the next work plan. Most of the clubs expressed their active cooperation in this regard, hoping to restore the home and away game system as soon as possible to realize the normal, stable and healthy operation of the professional football league. Some clubs are worried about whether they can meet the relevant requirements of the epidemic prevention department. There are also individual clubs who believe that the restoration of the increased rent, travel and other expenses for the home and away venues will further increase the club’s operating pressure.
In any case, the restoration of the home and away game system has been the top priority of the Chinese Football Association’s preparations for this season’s league, and it is fully promoted. This season, the Chinese Super League will definitely play 34 rounds. According to the work ideas of the Chinese Football Federation, even if the home and away games cannot be fully resumed, we must strive to partially resume home and away games when the epidemic prevention situation is relatively good. “After all, the tournament system has been played for two years. If it continues like this, there will be relatively big problems in the survival of the club. In the context of the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, professional sports events must always seek a reasonable model of coexistence.”
Relevant people believe that compared with many indoor activities such as movies, dramas, concerts, etc., football matches are outdoor activities, with empty venues and good ventilation. As long as the epidemic prevention plan is well prepared, the risk of virus transmission can be minimized. In the previous two seasons, both Suzhou and Guangzhou had allowed fans to enter the stadium to watch the game. In some key games, the number of people entering the stadium even reached 20,000 or 30,000. However, due to proper prevention and control measures, they have achieved “zero”. Infection”, “It should be said that through two years of exploration, we have also accumulated a certain amount of successful experience in the prevention and control of the epidemic in the event.”
Copy the Chinese League system and cancel the fans watching the game away
Not surprisingly, the new season of the Chinese Super League starts on April 23 and ends on November 13, with a span of 7 months. The Chinese Football Federation has formulated a number of plans to promote the restart of the home and away game system. Looking at it now, it is more likely to copy the Chinese League last season and divide the 34 rounds of the league into 4 stages, 10+8+8+8 respectively. In this way, the 18 Chinese Super League teams will also be played. Divided into three groups, first play two rounds of home and away matches with the teams in the group, and then rotate in turn to ensure that all 34 rounds of the league are completed.
The advantage of this is that it is highly mobile. When the epidemic prevention and control situation is relatively good, the home and away game system is adopted. When the epidemic prevention and control situation is tight, the game system will be temporarily resumed. Moreover, it is divided into three groups with only 6 teams in each group. Once the tournament system is resumed, the pressure on hosting will be relatively small. The disadvantage is that compared with the traditional home and away game system, there may be uneven distribution of strong and weak dialogues. However, due to the consideration of epidemic prevention and control, this is already an almost ideal solution.
In response to the issue of epidemic prevention and control, the Chinese Football Association has also prepared more specific measures, such as setting an alternate home court in case of emergency. The home attendance rate will probably be controlled at a relatively low level of 3-5 in the early stage. There may also be a barrier between the seats.
It is also understood that this season, the Chinese Super League will not set up a special area for fans of the away team to watch the game. Before the FA Cup final, in order to arrange for fans to enter the stadium to watch the game, Chengdu once put forward the requirement that “entering fans must not leave Chengdu within 14 days”. Whether a similar plan will be introduced into the new season of the Super League is still under further discussion.
Home preparations for the Henan Division have officially started
Some clubs have taken active actions to restore the home and away game system. On March 2, the preparation and coordination meeting of the Henan Division was successfully held in Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium. Henan Football Association, Songshan Longmen Club and other relevant parties attended. Fan Ronghui, secretary general of the Henan Football Association, listened to the relevant report on the preparations of the Songshan Longmen Club at the coordination meeting, and said that he must do a good job in the preparations for the new season’s home court, and go all out to ensure the normal progress of the new season’s home court work. Prepare multiple sets of emergency plans in a timely manner.
After the meeting, leaders of various departments also inspected the Nautical Stadium and the Zhongmu Football Training Base together, and discussed the specific work details on the spot. The official of Henan Songshan Longmen Club also made it clear: “It will actively cooperate with the Henan Provincial Football Association and make every effort to meet the specific requirements of the Chinese Football Association for the restoration of the home and away game system, such as game management and emergency measures.” (Sohu Sports Pei Li)Return to Sohu, see more
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