In front of empty ranks: The strict corona rules often lead to games without spectators in China’s top division.
Photo: IMAGO / Xinhua
The new workers’ stadium in Beijing’s city center symbolizes the state of Chinese football: day and night, hundreds of construction workers have been working hard to build a modern sports facility that is now – two years after the groundbreaking ceremony – almost complete. It was planned that the finalists of the Asian championship should arrive here in front of more than 60,000 spectators next summer.
But as things currently stand, the ranks of the iconic prestige project may remain empty for years to come: due to the Covid restrictions, the host nation recently gave up hosting the tournament. And even Beijing Guoan, the capital’s traditional football club, has now relocated to Rizhao, 600 kilometers away, as entry restrictions to Beijing have become stricter.
Hardly any other football league in the world is still overshadowed by the Corona measures as much as the Chinese “Super League”. This weekend, the “zero Covid” policy even brought football to a complete standstill: two matchdays were postponed to the end of September due to local outbreaks of infection. When the rest of the season will be held is still open.
The local football fans have not been able to plan for a long time. 15 games have already been postponed since the beginning of August. The organizers previously scheduled several matches in a row in selected cities in order to avoid unnecessary travel by the teams. The games often took place without spectators.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the People’s Republic of China has been pursuing a strict zero-tolerance policy, the premise of which has not changed to this day: the virus should be completely eradicated from its own national borders. Accordingly, the population in practically all cities has to take part in mass tests every few days – and as soon as an outbreak of infection is registered, they have to fear a strict lockdown.
It is quite astonishing that the epidemiological measures are also paralyzing the Chinese football league. Because just a few years ago, their rise seemed almost limitless: Head of state Xi Jinping, who is himself a fan of the round leather, has declared the major project of football power to be a top priority. The aim was to lead the People’s Republic of China to the top of the world by 2050. And the local companies followed in anticipatory obedience: they invested increasingly absurd sums in the Chinese clubs, which in turn went on a shopping spree abroad.
The teams not only bought up aging stars, but also increasingly players who were at their peak. The former Brazilian international Oscar moved to Shanghai around 2017 at the age of 25 – for a transfer fee of over 60 million euros.
Center forward Carlos Tévez, who is now retired, also moved to Shanghai in 2017, where he is said to have been promised a staggering annual salary of 40 million over a two-year contract. That made him the highest paid player ever at the time. However, after seven months in which the Argentine scored only four goals, he has already returned to his homeland. The 38-year-old described his time in the People’s Republic of China as a “holiday”.
Despite the sporting failures, the “Chinese Super League” was viewed with eagle eyes in Europe. Then-Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said: ‘The Chinese market is a danger for everyone. Not just for us, but for all teams around the world«. It was feared that the teams from the Far East would buy away the local talent.
But such fears should not come true – on the contrary. Most international players have long since left the country in droves. This is mainly due to the salary caps that the Chinese league introduced in 2020 after individual clubs invested up to 80 percent of their budget in foreign transfers. The ongoing quarantine restrictions have also massively reduced the attractiveness of the People’s Republic.
But the pandemic basically hit a sports industry that was already in severe crisis. This is mainly due to the country’s economic situation. The real estate sector in particular is one of the most obvious problem areas, and some experts are already talking about a bubble. Exactly that industry was disproportionately represented as a football investor.
For many of the 18 teams, it is no longer just about sporting success. Your primary goal is currently: to get through the season without bankruptcy.
