Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 10th (Reporters Gong Bing, Xiao Shiyao) How to solve wage arrears?
Is the professional football club cross-registration association transfer policy restored?
The preparatory group of the Chinese Professional Football Club Federation (hereinafter referred to as "the Chinese Football Federation") gave the answer at the 2023 Chinese Professional Football League media communication meeting a few days ago.
Liu Jun, deputy head of the preparatory team of the Chinese Football Federation and chairman of the Chinese Super League, said that at the beginning of 2022, considering the special situation at the time, some clubs with wage arrears were given conditional access, and a time node was set to complete a certain proportion of debts. The clubs that did not complete were punished accordingly.
Before the end of the new season, the problem of salary arrears must be resolved.
Liu Jun said that the overall settlement of the historical wage arrears problem is good, and some clubs are actively dealing with it, including some clubs that are in the process of shareholding reform.
Whether it is punishment, or helping clubs communicate with local governments to promote shareholding reform, or promoting investors to solve problems, the ultimate goal is to help players, coaches, and staff get the salaries they deserve.
"We have been asking clubs to actively promote the settlement of wage arrears in accordance with relevant regulations."
Liu Jun said: "(Arrears of wages) is a very bad thing for this industry, and we hope there will be a fundamental improvement this year."
According to the "Regulations on the Transfer of Professional Football Clubs of the Chinese Football Association" promulgated in 2016, after a professional football club is transferred and its legal person registration is changed, its registered Chinese Football Association member association shall not be changed, that is, the club cannot be transferred across registered associations.
In recent years, due to various factors, the operation of professional football clubs has been difficult, especially in China A and China B. Therefore, some people proposed to resume the transfer of cross-registration associations, but it also caused some controversy-the inability to cultivate fans' sense of belonging and territorial football culture, lack of sustainable development, etc.
Liu Jun said that whether to resume the transfer of cross-registration associations has not yet been finalized. Although this is only for the Chinese A and Chinese B clubs, there are also differences between the clubs.
If the restoration is finally determined, detailed rules will also be formulated. The move-out and move-in must obtain the consent of the relevant local associations, local sports departments, and local governments.
Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic, a club in Shaanxi that has encountered financial difficulties, recently sold its "Creative Lifetime Membership" and actively launched "self-help".
In this regard, Liu Jun believes: "Although this is not exactly the same as the membership system of foreign clubs, this approach not only relieves the club's financial pressure, but also provides us with new ideas, which is very supportive of this innovative behavior."
Liu Jun said: "If a league wants to develop healthily, it should basically achieve a balance of revenue and expenditure. Previously, in the environment of 'Golden Dollar Football', it was difficult to achieve a balance of revenue and expenditure because of too much investment. So we proposed a salary limit before. Investment, limit investment, reduce expenditure and find ways to increase income. We are indeed facing many difficulties, but we must also see the positive side, for example, Ping An of China will be named the Chinese Super League for the tenth consecutive season. In recent years, due to various factors Overlapping, the entire industry has encountered greater difficulties, and I believe that with the restoration of the home and away system, everything will return to normal, and the attention of the league will definitely increase, which will drive the value of the league to increase.”
In order to promote the sustainable development of the league and basically achieve a balance between revenue and expenditure, the preparatory team of the Chinese Football Federation is building a new financial supervision system. The supervision starts from the club budget and checks the club's financial situation every month. Once there is a problem, it will communicate with the club in time. solve.
The "Overall Plan for the Reform and Development of Chinese Football" stated: "Actively research and promote the issuance of football lottery with the Chinese professional football league as the guessing object."
Can the Super League lottery be launched?
Liu Jun said: "We have been actively working hard to advance, but this is a relatively large matter that requires many factors to be considered, and requires joint research and advancement by multiple relevant departments. We have always hoped that (this matter) will make progress. After all, this is one of the ways to increase the league's attention and revenue."