Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Hengzhi
The 2023 season of the Chinese Super League will start on the 15th. At the difficult time of team downsizing, investment and sponsorship reduction, many professional stadiums are put into use, and the return to the home and away game system is full of expectations. The suspense of the championship and relegation is also quite interesting. In the “Thirty Years” when the Chinese Professional Football League has reached its 30th year, the Chinese Super League needs to cut off the serious illness and move towards a new future rationally and healthily.
The number of teams has shrunk, and the suspense of the championship and relegation has not diminished
In the 2023 season, the two clubs of Guangzhou City and Kunshan FC failed to qualify for professional league admission, which means that for four consecutive seasons, Chinese Super League teams have withdrawn from the league. The difference is that there is no replacement this season, and the Chinese Super League has returned to the size of 16 teams.
The “decrease” in the number of teams is actually the Chinese Super League’s efforts to “guarantee quality”. At present, Chinese football is facing a difficult moment of sharp decline in investment and sponsorship. Under this general environment, blindly pursuing the “integrity” of 18 teams will obviously not help to ensure the quality of the league.
Among the 16 teams in the new season, the defending champion Wuhan Sanzhen is still the favorite to win the championship. After reinforcements, Beijing Guoan will form a group army to hit the championship with Shanghai Haigang and Shandong Taishan. The veteran team Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang and Chengdu, which performed well last season Teams such as Rongcheng have the ability to disrupt the game. In terms of relegation, many teams including the two “promoted horses” may fight for relegation, but there is still suspense about who will be relegated in the end.
“Return” of the home and away game system ignites the enthusiasm for watching the game
“Go to the stadium, come to us” is the slogan of the new season of the Chinese Super League, and it also vividly outlines the fans’ perseverance in the Super League.
The Chinese Super League ushered in the home and away game system again, which gave Chinese football a bright color in the “cold winter”-whether it is an old team or a “promoted” team, ticket sales are extremely hot. It is hard to find a ticket for a home stadium, especially the Beijing Workers Stadium, which hosts the opening ceremony of the new season, the tickets are sold out within a few minutes. In the difficult moment of Chinese football, fans still choose to vote with their feet and support their beloved team.
Another highlight of this season is the opening of several professional stadiums. Beijing Workers Stadium, SAIC Pudong Football Stadium, Chengdu Phoenix Mountain Sports Park Football Stadium, and Qingdao Youth Football Stadium are the home stadiums of Beijing Guoan, Shanghai Haigang, Chengdu Rongcheng and Qingdao Manatee respectively. Tianjin TEDA Football Stadium will also In the second half of the league as the home court of the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers.
A better home atmosphere and more eager fans’ expectations may become boosters for the Chinese Super League to start again in the new season.
“Low investment” Super League pursues high-quality development
The core of professional football is the league. Whether the league is healthy or not directly affects the development of football.
With the end of the “Golden Dollar Football” era in the Chinese Super League, it is not easy for clubs to survive, and their investment is constantly shrinking. Taking this winter transfer window as an example, according to the statistics of the German transfer market website, the “standard king” of the Chinese Super League is Yakubu, who was introduced by the Wuhan Three Towns team for 900,000 euros. “Biao Wang” is obviously not the same.
But “low investment” cannot be linked to “low level”, and “high cost performance” players should be the goals pursued by Chinese Super League clubs. On the one hand, this is due to the club’s finances, and on the other hand, it also means that it needs to be more professional and professional-signing should no longer “only buy expensive ones and not the right ones”, but have a pair of discerning eyes, “do big things with small money” .
At the same time, domestic players and local coaches will also get more opportunities. This season, the Super League team has 7 local coaches, 6 of whom are under 50 years old. These Mesozoic coaches and more young domestic players need to “level up” as soon as possible to really improve their level and ability.
The new season of the Chinese Super League is about to start. I hope that the new round of football anti-corruption storm will help the Chinese Super League go on cleaner and healthier. (over)Return to Sohu to see more
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