Major soccer club quits league games

Recently relegated Chinese Super League club Wuhan Yangtze River on Wednesday announced its withdrawal from the Chinese Football Association in the latest blow to China's efforts to build itself into a soccer powerhouse.

"After careful consideration, Wuhan Yangtze River has decided that the club will not register to join any of the CFA's soccer leagues," the club's statement said.

The news instantly became a trending topic on Chinese social media. Related news had been viewed over 100 million times on Weibo by Thursday afternoon, with most fans expressing frustration about the status of Chinese professional soccer.

Wuhan Yangtze River, formerly known as Wuhan Zall, was recently relegated from the nation's top-tier CSL to its second tier. The club won only eight matches during the 2022 season and ranked 16th among the 18-team CSL.

The club was established in 2009.Two years later, industrial giant Zall Group took over the club.

For the past 12 years, the group invested over 3 billion yuan ($450 million) in the club, according to the announcement. It later renamed the club Wuhan Yangtze River due to changes in naming rules.

Zall also pledged in the statement to pay all salaries owed to its players and coaches and help them find positions with other teams.

For the past few seasons, survival has become a problem for a number of clubs in all four of China's soccer tiers, including the recently relegated eight-time CSL champion Guangzhou FC, whose future is clouded by financial problems.

Moreover, before the 2021 season started, six clubs, including 2020 CSL champion Jiangsu FC, had been disqualified from the professional leagues due to financial difficulties.

For Wuhan Yangtze River, the problem appears to be concerns over the club's playing ability.

"We are not professional enough in soccer, and the overall Chinese professional soccer environment is now very problematic," Yan Zhi, CEO of Zall Group, was quoted as saying by Sina Sports."The management and the results of our club are also not ideal. So please forgive us for making this decision."