In a short week from July 7 to 14, the CFL preparatory team dispatched two groups of working groups to conduct the first round of detailed inspections of the venues in the candidate zones for the Chinese Super League. The inspection covered 7 clubs' home stadiums in 6 regions, and all the venues successfully passed the preliminary examination. Some of the clubs have clearly indicated that they are capable of hosting home matches, and this progress has laid a solid foundation for the resumption of the home and away system of this season's Chinese Super League.
According to the latest plan released by the CFA and the preparatory team on July 6 at the Super League Clubs' Senior Summit, the home and away system will be resumed from the 11th round (August 5) of the 2022 Super League season. Considering the epidemic and other practical factors, some clubs may not be able to host home matches for the time being. For this reason, the organizers have asked the local sports management departments through the clubs for their opinions on whether they can host home matches, and have asked the clubs to feedback their specific opinions to the CFL and the preparatory team in the second half of July.
Due to a series of conditions that need to be met in order to host a Chinese Super League match, the preparatory team decided to conduct a field inspection of the club's home field conditions. The inspection was officially launched on July 7, the day after the league meeting. Two inspection teams inspected seven club venues in six candidate cities.
Group A inspected venues in Chengdu, Wuhan and Zhengzhou, while Group B inspected venues in Shenzhen, Changchun and Jinan. Chengdu Rongcheng, Wuhan Sanzhen, Wuhan Changjiang, Henan Songshan Longmen, Shenzhen, Changchun Yatai and Shandong Taishan, the seven preferred venues for the home of Chinese Super League (CSL) clubs, were inspected and passed successfully.
Other club venues that have not been inspected in this round are mainly due to the fact that they have successfully hosted large-scale sporting events before and have recently been inspected by professional teams, or are hosting professional soccer events. For example, club venues such as Dalian Ren and Meizhou Hakka have successfully hosted Chinese Super League matches, and the venue conditions naturally meet the requirements for home matches.
Zhejiang Football Club plans to declare the stadium in Huzhou City as its home ground, which has been examined as an alternative venue for the Hangzhou Asian Games, and the conditions are in line with the requirements of the Chinese Super League. Guangzhou District has hosted many Chinese Super League matches, and many of its stadiums have successfully undertaken the national team's preparations and matches to receive the task, as long as the two Chinese Super League clubs in the same city and the District's territory and venues to reach an agreement on the possibility of re-hosting Chinese Super League matches is very high.
Chinese Super League clubs need to feedback to the organizers by July 20 whether they can host home matches. It is reported that some clubs have confirmed that they can host home matches with the support of their local governments. At present, some clubs, including Changchun Yatai, Henan Songshan Longmen, Wuhan two clubs, the prospect of hosting home games is more optimistic.
The prospect of home games for Beijing Guoan and Shanghai clubs is also in the spotlight. Guoan has chosen the Fengtai Sports Center as its preferred home ground, and the bidding process has been initiated. Shanghai two clubs affected by the epidemic, there is no definite information. But the industry analysis, Shanghai stadium facilities are good, as long as the local consent, the source of deep sports center and other venues can be put into use. Even if the two Shanghai clubs are unable to play at home in the short term, they can apply for a home game in Suzhou.
Currently, the tournament organizers are waiting for feedback from the clubs. After collecting and collating the letters of consent from the clubs to host the tournament at home, the organizers will conduct the second round of tournament visits.
