Chinese Super League: could border reopening spark resurgence in football on mainland? Frustrated fans certainly hope so
- Chinese Super League clubs have suffered since the country closed its borders in response to the coronavirus pandemic
- Expensive foreign players have left, attendances have dropped and some clubs have folded
After three years of isolation and financial struggles in Chinese football the country is reopening its borders and economy to the outside world. With it, frustrated fans, financially challenged clubs and unpaid players in the Chinese Super League might receive some long-awaited good news.
The 2022 season was unrecognisable from the 2019 edition, the last before the coronavirus. Then the league had an average attendance of more than 24,000, the highest in Asia, and a number of big-name foreign imports.
From 2020 onward, Beijing’s zero-covid policy, designed to stamp out the virus, meant teams mostly played in empty stadiums at centralised venues. Players were stuck in bio-secure bubbles for months on end and international stars, unable to enter the country, were released from contracts.
It also meant little ticket, broadcast or sponsorship revenue for clubs. In 2021, defending champions Jiangsu FC folded and several other clubs have struggled to pay players.
Opening up the country may not mean a return to the carefree spending of the previous decade, but is a prerequisite to starting the journey back to pre-pandemic levels. It is reported that clubs will play home and away games in the 2023 season.
“It almost feels like there has been no league in the past three years with delays, months without games and strange schedules,” Wang Yi, a Shanghai Shenhua supporter, said. “Some fans have lost interest but I think that will change when we can all get together at the stadium again.”
Because of the government’s strict policies, foreign teams were unable to enter the country, forcing China to play 2022 World Cup qualifiers in neutral venues. The team finished next to last in their final qualification group, eight points behind Oman.
The country was scheduled to host the 2023 Asian Cup in June but last May, Beijing relinquished its staging rights.
“It remains to be seen if and how quickly Chinese football can return to its ambitions and plans of 2019, and prior to that.” said Simon Chadwick, professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy at Skema Business School, adding state help would be needed.
“It is important that the sport doesn’t just restart, but that it is kick-started . . . there must be a worry that unless both the government and Chinese football commit themselves to refreshing and relaunching it, then the sport could get stuck in the international doldrums.”
The pandemic also exacerbated a downturn in China’s overheated property market. With more than half of the clubs in the top tier owned, at least in part, by real estate companies, it has been a major issue in the game.
Evergrande, the property developer, saw its club Guangzhou, who won eight titles in the previous decade, relegated in December after the team’s stars left and were replaced by young domestic players.
Opening up the country is expected to boost the housing market especially as, in December, Chinese state banks opened up a line of credit worth around US$460 billion for real estate companies. It remains to be seen if this will ease the financial strain on clubs.
“One suspects that the Chinese government will be keen to decouple football from its previous unhealthy relationship with property investors,” Chadwick said. “Both sectors need to discover some market discipline whilst being subject to the state’s appropriate guidance.”
For now though, fans just want to go and see their teams play.
“I won’t believe it until it happens,” Wang said. “It is when something disappears that you know how much it means. It will be very exciting.”
