Chinese football club Wuhan folded after failing to pay players

Chinese football club Wuhan folded after failing to pay players

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BEIJING — Relegated Chinese Super League club Wuhan Yangtze said on Wednesday it would cease operations, just two months after it was deducted for not paying its players’ salaries.

Wuhan finished the 2022 season in 16th place out of 18 teams, which ended in December, and said in a statement that they would not be enrolled to play in the second division of the 2023 season.

“The club has represented Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province, in the Chinese professional football league for 11 consecutive seasons since 2012 in order to continue the development of the sport.

The club has promised to settle any outstanding payments owed to staff.

Zall Group, a real estate and trading company, took control of Wuhan in late 2011 and invested around $440 million in the club, according to a statement.

Wuhan isn’t the only Chinese football club to struggle these days. After China’s top league became world-famous over the past decade, teams invested heavily in hiring well-known foreign players and coaches to grow the sport.

During the 2022 season, three teams in China’s top league, including Wuhan, and five teams in the second division have been penalized for failing to pay their players.

Last May, Chongqing Liangjiang withdrew from the league due to financial problems, and in 2021, reigning champions Jiangsu FC dissolved as owner Suning sought to cut costs.

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