On January 6th, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced the list of professional clubs eligible for the 2025 season. The list revealed that Guangzhou FC, a two-time AFC Champions League winner and eight-time Chinese Super League (CSL) champion, did not meet the standards and was ineligible to participate.
Six hours after the announcement, Guangzhou Club released a statement declaring that due to its heavy historical debt, the funds raised were insufficient to repay the debts, and it could no longer compete in China's professional football league.
Although the full text of Guangzhou Club's announcement contained factual errors (referring to the CSL eight-time champion as an eight consecutive championship), it did not mention any subsequent arrangements, did not mention the word "dissolution," and did not bear the club's official seal. However, various media outlets and the football industry have firmly concluded that Guangzhou FC is effectively dissolved.
Currently, only 21 fan associations of Guangzhou Club are still unwilling to accept this outcome. They have issued a joint open letter demanding an explanation from the club and appealing to the CFA to understand the specific reasons for their exclusion from eligibility...
Guangzhou Club announces its inability to continue participating in Chinese professional football leagues / Guangzhou Club Official WeChat Public Account
Some fans believe that the final reason Guangzhou Club did not pass the eligibility criteria was because national team player Wei Shihao, who was once part of the club, publicly demanded his wages, which was the "last straw" that broke the camel's back.
On December 20th last year, the CFA announced the second batch of clubs that had completed the repayment of wage arrears. Guangzhou Club, which had previously failed to pass in the first batch, was included in this list. This meant that at the CFA level, Guangzhou Club had completed the repayment of its debts.
However, by evening, this list sparked strong dissatisfaction from current national team player Wei Shihao. Wei Shihao directly questioned the CFA on social media, "How did Guangzhou FC pass the eligibility (to complete the repayment of arrears)?"
A player agent familiar with the wage arrears case told China News Weekly, "From the information I received, Guangzhou Club did not treat Wei Shihao differently from other players during previous negotiations with his team. After Wei Shihao spoke out, a staff member of Guangzhou FC was also confused. It is possible that there was a 'information gap' that caused a misunderstanding between the two sides."
Subsequently, facing the growing public opinion, a spokesperson for the CFA publicly responded, stating that they had received relevant complaint materials and that the association had initiated a rapid response mechanism to handle the matter seriously.
China News Weekly learned that regarding the final eligibility issues for Guangzhou and other clubs, the CFA withstood significant pressure and conveyed the view and stance that Guangzhou Club had too much historical debt and lacked the ability to resolve it; it could no longer be allowed to "tinker" aimlessly.
On January 6th, a spokesperson for the CFA also publicly explained through the media the main reasons why the relevant clubs did not obtain eligibility: First, based on the payment vouchers provided by the clubs for international and domestic wage arrears cases and domestic dispute and arbitration cases, these clubs had serious problems with insufficient payment ratios; Second, in response to complaints during the eligibility public comment period, some of these clubs had unresolved reasonable complaints from creditors; Third, according to a comprehensive investigation of the clubs' business risks, some of these clubs were listed as untrustworthy executors and did not provide sufficient evidence to prove their ability to deal with business risks or debt repayment.
National team player Wei Shihao openly questions the CFA / Wei Shihao's Weibo
With the fact that Guangzhou Club was ineligible already established, a large number of fans flooded Wei Shihao's social media comment section, with comments showing a polarized stance. Some fans questioned Wei Shihao, "Are you happy? You ruined Guangzhou FC." "Even if Guangzhou FC dissolves, you won't get your unpaid wages." Other fans expressed that Wei Shihao's pursuit of unpaid wages was justified and should not be criticized for any reason.
In the 2024 season, Guangzhou Club ultimately ranked third in the China League One. Theoretically, if they passed the eligibility criteria, Guangzhou Club might even have had the potential to be promoted to the CSL.
The aforementioned agent told China News Weekly that although wage arrears were an "open secret" every year, in reality, Guangzhou Club consistently presented a positive attitude of wanting to survive and exhausted various methods and means to save itself.
At the end of 2023, Guangzhou Football Club, which was preparing to pass the 2024 season eligibility, had already fallen into a state of "precariousness." At that time, in order to raise funds, Guangzhou Club not only rented out the championship trophies it had previously won but also conducted multiple live broadcasts in its official live broadcast room every day to try to recover funds.
Guangzhou Club once rented out championship trophies to fans for self-rescue / Social Media Screenshot
Data shows that with the help of enthusiastic fans from Guangzhou and other regions, the club's official store achieved a single-day revenue breakthrough of over 3 million yuan. However, compared to the tens of millions of yuan in wage arrears, the pure profit from live broadcast sales after deducting costs was still insignificant.
The football industry tends to believe that Guangzhou Club's proactive self-promotion was crucial in sending signals to the outside world: the team wants to survive, and the fans have not dispersed. But without better options, they could only buy time to create space, blaze a path of self-reliance, and slowly resolve historical legacy issues.
By the eligibility stage, there were even more twists and turns. Although Guangzhou Club submitted the relevant eligibility materials, various media exposed that its historical wage arrears had not been substantially resolved. Not only was the salary dispute with former head coach and World Footballer of the Year Fabio Cannavaro not resolved, but former Guangzhou Club player Guo Jing also openly demanded wages online.
Attorney Zhang Bing from Shanghai Landy Law Firm told China News Weekly that he had represented a Guangzhou FC player who was determined to claim his unpaid wages. The player insisted on a one-time payment from Guangzhou FC, but later, due to the player's name being leaked online and subjected to cyberbullying, he and his family decided to compromise after discussions.
By 2024, Guangzhou Club's situation had not fundamentally improved. In early December, Guangzhou Club Chairman Liu Qian and former women's national team player and current Guangzhou Football School Training Director Gao Hong personally went online to live stream and sell goods for the team, striving to help the team overcome difficulties and hoping to pass the eligibility for the 2025 season.
Liu Qian once openly stated during a live broadcast, "We will not be 'deadbeats,' we will take responsibility for history, and the club is trying every means to raise funds, but because the total amount is too high, there is still a shortfall. 'Until the last moment, we will never give up.'"
In recent years, teams that disbanded due to the rupture of their parent group's capital chain include former CSL champions Jiangsu Club, Tianjin Tianhai Club, Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic Club, and others. In the eyes of the football industry, Guangzhou Club, burdened with debt, has long been like a "vegetable" clinging to life and should have "made a decision" in 2022. However, after forcibly "clinging to life" for two more years, it has ultimately reached this inevitable end.
In fact, the true opportunity for Guangzhou Club's "resurrection" did occur in 2022. According to reports from multiple local Guangzhou media outlets, the former investor had expressed a willingness to rejoin hands with Guangzhou Club, but they ultimately failed to reach an agreement.
Since Guangzhou Club's official statement did not explicitly mention the word "dissolution," there are still some "unknowns" regarding the final choices of the club entity and its players.
In past seasons, Guangzhou Club has always used young players from the football school as its "first team" to compete in professional leagues. Subsequently, these young players from the football school would theoretically enter the free player market and choose their paths based on their respective situations and development considerations. The football industry believes that defining Guangzhou Club as having a "first team dissolution" is more accurate.
As for the Guangzhou Club entity, Zhu Yi, the administrator of the Chinese region of the German football website Transfermarkt, told China News Weekly, "Any professional football club that fails to pass eligibility and leaves the professional league does not necessarily disappear. Theoretically, they can still choose to retain their business entity, start from amateur leagues, or simply operate as a youth training club."
"But as long as the business entity exists, the historical wage arrears will remain and will not be eliminated." Zhu Yi said, "If the entity participates in amateur leagues and is promoted to the professional league from the amateur league, it will again face the issue of professional league eligibility and still encounter debt problems. Moreover, even if participating in amateur leagues, the entity will still be under the jurisdiction of the CFA, and its domestic arbitration cases and international disputes will continue to be effective, likely resulting in transfer bans, penalties, etc., affecting the team's transfers, registration, operations, etc."
"In fact, the vast majority of Chinese football clubs that have disappeared still retain their business entities, which have become idle shells." Zhu Yi said.
In the announcement, Guangzhou Club still proudly stated that since participating in China's