Struggling Chinese side Hebei FC thank fans amid uncertain CSL future
- ‘Your existence is the greatest significance of our persistence,’ club tells supporters in Weibo post
- No guarantees that Guangzhou FC and Langfang-based side will be back when Chinese Super League returns to action
Struggling Chinese Super League side Hebei FC, formerly one of the country’s biggest-spending teams, have thanked fans for their support in an article titled “A Letter to the Fans of Hebei Team” published on the club’s official Weibo on Monday.
“Thank you to all the fans of the Hebei Football Club for their encouragement, support, and perseverance. Every move, every word of concern and more silently supporting every family member behind us without a voice, we have received your true feelings. Your existence is the greatest significance of our persistence,” the club wrote on its Weibo.
The former club of Javier Mascherano and Ezequiel Lavezzi suspended four youth teams in October amid reports that it could not pay the electricity bills at its training base, while the first team of the China Fortune Land Development-owned club have been on holiday for almost a month.
Hebei FC’s post showed a number of messages received from football fans, introducing them with the message: “It is said that we see people‘s hearts in times of adversity, but we have seen countless true feelings in times of adversity.”
The post began with a poem –“A city, a group of people, for a red faith, unswervingly until death!” – and after thanking the fans the club then listed where the support came from.
“Our motherland has 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, and 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government. Thank you for the arrival of ‘Double Eleven’,” the Langfang-based club wrote.
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On November the club posted a Singles’ Day sale ahead of November 11 – the date which has become an annual shopping holiday in China – with the message “Unite as one to overcome difficulties together” and the launch of a new Taobao store.
“Let us know that we are not fighting alone. Although you are all over the country, you have been watching silently. We support us and give us great encouragement and support.
“Up to now, we have received support from Hebei team fans from 18 provinces, 4 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities across the country,” the club wrote, ahead of listing out everywhere they had been sent a message from.
“Finally, thanks again to all the family members for their support and encouragement, you are everywhere, we have always been there.”
Hebei defender Lei Tenglong urged the government to save the club earlier this month.
“At the time of my arrival, the club told me that its financial situation was rather grim. Now it has become much more difficult, struggling to sustain the club‘s daily operations,” Lei said.
“As things are becoming very hard for all of us, we hope the government can expedite the process to help the club. We players cannot wait indefinitely.”
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“The players have been taking holidays since, and in order to maintain fitness we need to train on our own. We have no idea when our holidays will end,” added Lei, who only signed for the struggling side this season.
Hebei’s players have been on break since they were knocked out of the Chinese FA Cup on October 14.
The Chinese Super League has been on pause since August while the Chinese Football Association focuses on the country’s Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 Asian qualifiers.
It has been reported in Chinese media that the CSL will resume in December and complete the season in January, though there has been no official confirmation from the CFA.
Hebei are not the only team to be struggling financially. The Suning-owned Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu FC folded before the current season started while it is unclear if eight-time champions Guangzhou FC, who are owned by beleaguered real estate giants China Evergrande Group, will survive this season.
China League One side Guizhou FC has also been struggling financially with reports of players going unpaid for more than 14 months and threatening to go on strike unless they are paid.
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The second-tier club held a public training session on Monday, which was attended by chairwoman Wen Xiaoting and also broadcast live online.
Wen said that the players will be paid but China’s Football News newspaper reported after Monday’s training session that the issue had not been resolved.
More than 20 professional Chinese football clubs have ceased operations in the last two years amid financial constraints and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
