Access to the pass, Cangzhou Lions are the saddest

The reporter reported coldly On the 20th, the second batch of professional club arrears list announced by the Chinese Football Association quickly caused an uproar because of the public doubts of many players on social media. "The association sincerely hopes that every creditor will complain and report through the channels announced by the association during the publicity period, and provide effective and detailed evidence materials as much as possible, so that the association can realistically, fairly and impartially review and deal with and solve problems, and be responsible for every creditor and every club." The official response of the Chinese Football Association has made many clubs who have been reported really feel the pressure. Judging from the known situation, in the process of passing the access, the biggest difficulty is the Cangzhou Lions.

Although players from Guangzhou and Hunan Xiangtao questioned the team's inclusion on the arrears list, as many as 10 players from Cangzhou Lions relayed their voices to recover the arrears, which not only triggered an official response from the Chinese Football Association, but also pushed the club to the forefront. Since Zheng Kaimu questioned the salary arrears of the Cangzhou Lions on his social media account on December 20, at least 10 Cangzhou Lions players have followed up to question the club's salary arrears, including Oscar Jr., Zheng Dalun, Wang Peng, goalkeeper Shao Puliang and other main players. Oscar Jr., who is about to be naturalized in China, said that he has not received any salary transfer from the Cangzhou Lions, but stressed that he does not want the Cangzhou Lions, who he once served, to be disbanded because he could not pass the access. Zheng Dalun said that he only received 4 months' salary for one season, and Guo Hao, a veteran who has been away from the team for two years, also reposted Zheng Kaimu's Weibo denouncing the arrears.

The Chinese Football Association will announce the access list before January 10, 2025, and there are so many complaints about unpaid wages from the Cangzhou Lions, leaving little time for the club to solve the problem and strive for a smooth passage. After the Cangzhou Lions struggled to be relegated this year, the club's financial situation is still grim. Cangzhou Lions has been promoting communication with the government level, hoping to raise a batch of funds to solve the urgent need. In fact, the Cangzhou Lions have borrowed a sum of money through government help, but the funds have been prioritized to settle the looming international transfer fee and unpaid salary disputes, eliminating the "red line" threat of the transfer ban, which has now been completely eliminated.

Previously, in the communication with the players, they made it clear that the club is still seeking support from the government and will raise another fund in the near future to pay the arrears of players' wages. However, it will take time to communicate with the government, and the necessary process of raising funds will also take time, and it will be difficult to put it in place in a short period of time, and it will be difficult for the club to give a timetable for the arrival of relevant funds.

Because of this, although the club has communicated with the players in the squad, explaining the current efforts and progress of the club to raise funds. However, because of when the arrears of wages will be in place and how much arrears can be paid, the Cangzhou Lions cannot give a specific timetable and amount, and this situation makes the players who have been owed wages for many years think that the club lacks the sincerity to solve the problem, which is why there are now increasingly fierce protests against arrears.

Players can attract widespread attention when they publicly protest against unpaid wages online, and if they want to complete the report, they still need to formally submit relevant documents to the Chinese Football Association to prove that they are owed wages, so that their demands can really be implemented. On December 21, the spokesman of the Football Association said that the mailbox announced by the Football Association to accept complaints and reports has received complaints related to the admission of clubs in the new season, and the Football Association has launched a rapid response mechanism to deal with it seriously in accordance with regulations.

Cangzhou Lions Club also admitted that this year is the most difficult year for the club to pass the access. The club is doing its best to raise funds as soon as possible, and the government does hope that the Cangzhou Lions can continue to operate, but all efforts will take time, and it is still unknown whether the problem can be solved before the announcement of the entry list on January 10. What the club can do now is to actively coordinate with the government in terms of funding, and of course, given the judgment of the current situation, the club is also prepared for the worst. If the problem of salary arrears cannot be resolved by January 10 next year, it can only lose the qualification for the Super League because it cannot pass the access.

As we all know, the Cangzhou Lions Club was relocated from Shijiazhuang in 2021, and when the club landed in Cangzhou, it had relevant agreements with the municipal government and state-owned enterprises at that time. However, due to the change of government and the epidemic, many of the relevant supports promised by Cangzhou City have not been fulfilled. It's just that the relevant agreements signed back then, will they continue to be implemented today? Or what should I do if I don't do it? Further discussion is needed at the government level. At present, if the club level wants to raise funds, it cannot be ruled out that it will still borrow money under the coordination of the previous government.

For the Cangzhou Lions, who are in a difficult situation, there are more difficulties to overcome than access. The two meritorious figures who have led the team to relegation in the past two years, Zhao Junzhe and Li Xiaopeng, both have the possibility of leaving the team.

Zhao Junzhe, who has been on vacation at home, said when interacting with the fans' live broadcast: "It's really not easy for our Cangzhou Lions Club, I really want to thank everyone, but don't thank me, I'm just saying that if the Cangzhou Lions can survive, can pass the admission qualification of the Football Association, survive first and then continue to go down, it doesn't matter if I have it or not." I'll take my son with me, do my son's recent things well, and find another time in the future to see if any team wants me, and I'll coach again. Therefore, Cangzhou has gone through such a long time, and it is not easy. I also hope that you will continue to support us. And this year's coach Li Xiaopeng, who led the team to relegation, is currently a popular candidate for the new coach of Qingdao Manatee.

In the past two seasons, the Cangzhou Lions have been in arrears, and the team has been able to complete the relegation, which is inseparable from the hard work of the two coaches.

In less than 20 days in the future, it can be called a matter of life and death for the Cangzhou Lions. All parties still hope to retain Hebei football in the Chinese Super League, whether this ill-fated club can compete in the Chinese Super League for five consecutive years, depends on the results of the joint efforts of Cangzhou Lions Club and the local government.