In the final match of the Chinese League last weekend, Dalian InBev grasped its fate and successfully beat the Guangzhou team to win the runner-up, and the team was promoted to the Chinese Super League for the first time in history. However, after Dalian InBev was promoted, there was also a big crisis.
On November 4, Beijing time, the well-known lawyer "Lawyer Dayong" reminded Dalian InBev Club not to be recognized by FIFA as the sports successor of Dalian people, otherwise it will bear the latter's debts and be crushed.
The so-called sports successor means that according to the relevant regulations of FIFA, if a club has similar or identical aspects with the previous club in some aspects, such as headquarters address, team uniforms, fan base, shareholders, legal organization form, type of competition and many other aspects, it will be recognized by FIFA as a sports successor, so as to inherit the debts that the previous club failed to perform.
And Dalian InBev is inextricably linked to the disbanded Dalian people in many ways. The first is the players, Lu Peng, Yan Xiangchuang, Zhao Mingjian, Jin Pengxiang, Sun Bo and other current InBev players, all of whom have played for Dalian Club. Secondly, the home stadium of the two teams (Dalian Barracuda Bay Football Stadium) and the team residence (Dalian Youth Base) are exactly the same.
In addition, the color of their uniforms (blue) and their fan base are highly similar, and both teams participate in the Chinese Super League, so it is entirely possible that FIFA will determine that Dalian InBev is the sporting successor of Dalian Professional Football Club.
Chinese football has not been without such cases in the past, and the Shenyang City Team was considered by FIFA to be the sports successor of Liaozu. In June 2024, FIFA also issued a ruling, determining that Shaanxi United is the sports successor of Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic, allowing it to inherit a debt of $730,000.
If Dalian InBev is also identified as the sports successor of Dalian Ren, it will assume the unresolved debts before the dissolution of the latter. Considering that the pressure of survival has increased sharply after the promotion to the Super League, the huge debt of the former club has crushed the tragedy of the latter club, which is indeed worthy of Dalian InBev's vigilance, and even a good coping strategy.