Once a symbol of China's football aspirations, Guangzhou FC has been relegated after failing to meet financial requirements.
Guangzhou FC, once China's leading professional football club and a symbol of the country's aspirations in the sport, has been dropped from the national league after a drawn-out saga related to the collapse of property developer China Evergrande , which bought the team in 2010.
The club — which won eight national league titles from 2011-2019, topped Asia’s Champions League twice and drew in names such as Brazil’s Robinho and Italian coach Marcello Lippi — failed to meet financial entry requirements. In a statement that referred to Guangzhou and two other ineligible clubs — the Cangzhou Mighty Lions and the Hunan Billows — the Chinese Football Association cited wage arrears and debt issues. Guangzhou’s ineligibility is the latest blow to Chinese football, which President Xi Jinping sought to develop when he came to power in 2012. In recent years, the sport has grappled with corruption scandals and financial issues at the companies backing the teams. Guangzhou FC, formerly named Guangzhou Evergrande, on Monday blamed its “historical debt burden” and the “insufficient funds” to address it. “To all those who cared about and supported the club, we express our sincere apologies,” it said in a statement. After its purchase by property developer Evergrande in 2010, the club embarked on a spending spree that included a host of big-name signings, echoing the boom years of China’s vast and heavily indebted real estate sector. A host of other top developers also owned teams named after them. But the failure of its majority owner in late 2021 derailed the club’s plans for a new Rmb12bn ($1.6bn) stadium in southern China’s Guangzhou, mooted to be one of the largest in the world, and relegated the club to the Chinese league’s second tier. In early 2021, the club removed Evergrande from its name under a new rule prohibiting company names to be used in football teams
FOOTBALL CHINA EVERGRANDE DEBT FINANCIAL ISSUES
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