Recently, the AFC announced the list of clubs participating in the 2022 AFC Champions League, and only 6 of the Chinese Super League have obtained "restricted access" licenses, which also reflects the embarrassing status quo of the Chinese Super League.
In Chinese football, the AFC Champions League has always been a closely watched event, before the Golden Yuan era, the Chinese Super League team's AFC Champions League participation goal is to strive for the group to qualify, after entering the Golden Yuan era, many Chinese Super League teams have broken into the quarterfinals, the final four, and the former Chinese Super League overlord Guangzhou Evergrande has won the AFC Champions League twice. In the case of the national team's performance has not improved much, the AFC Champions League has also become an important stage for Chinese football to find a sense of presence in Asian football. At that time, for many Chinese Super League clubs, entering the AFC Champions League and completing the group qualification were "small goals", and winning the AFC Champions League was the ultimate goal. In the previous five consecutive seasons, more than 10 Chinese Super League clubs have obtained direct access to the AFC Champions League, and now, no Chinese Super League club has obtained direct access qualifications, only 6 clubs such as Shanghai Haigang, Shanghai Shenhua, Shandong Taishan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Changchun Yatai have obtained "restricted access" licenses. This also means that clubs outside these 6 countries, even if they win the top three of the Chinese Super League or the FA Cup, are not eligible to play in next year's AFC Champions League. There is also a difference between direct access and restricted access, and the failure of Chinese Super League teams to "direct access" is largely due to the financial situation of the club.
In addition, of the 34 teams in the Chinese Super League and the Chinese First Division, only 14 applied for the AFC Champions League qualification from the AFC, setting a new low in recent years, that is to say, most clubs are not enthusiastic about next year's AFC Champions League qualification. There are many factors that lead to this situation, and the cause of the epidemic is one. Next year's AFC Champions League is likely to be a tournament system, at that time, if the Chinese Super League continues to make way for the top 12 matches, the AFC Champions League group stage is bound to be intertwined with the Chinese Super League schedule, in view of China's strict entry epidemic prevention and quarantine policy, the AFC Champions League is obviously a sweet burden. This year, the Chinese Super League team sent a youth army to participate, and some players of the U21 echelon representing Beijing Guoan were stranded abroad for several months due to the infection with the new crown virus, and it was not until the last 9 players and staff members who returned to China smoothly recently. For Guoan, it is obvious that they do not want to suffer this crime again, so they simply do not declare it, and they are also the only clubs in the top three of the two divisions in the first stage of the Chinese Super League that have not obtained an AFC Champions League license.
In addition to the epidemic, the problem of funds is also a major reason for the decline in the enthusiasm of Chinese Super League teams, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the Chinese Super League has entered an "ice age". According to reports, at least 11 of the current 16 teams in the Chinese Super League have wage arrears. This also includes Shanghai Shenhua, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Changchun Yatai, which have already won admission to next year's AFC Champions League. In particular, Guangzhou, the current team is training under the leadership of Zheng Zhi, the international and naturalized players have not returned to the team, and their prospects in the second stage of the league are uncertain, let alone participate in the AFC Champions League next season. In the future, whether the Chinese Super League can continue to maintain 4 AFC Champions League seats is a question mark. After all, after the Youth Army's AFC Champions League this year, the Chinese Super League's year-end technical points ranking has slipped from the first place in Asia to the seventh place in Asia. According to the past practice, the AFC Champions League is a cycle of two years, while the AFC finalizes the allocation of seats for the next cycle two years in advance, affected by the decline in points, the seats in the Chinese Super League in the 2023 and 2024 AFC Champions League will become 2+2, that is, only the Chinese Super League champions and the FA Cup champions can directly advance to the AFC Champions League. Under the epidemic situation, once the Chinese Super League team sends young players to participate again, it is bound to continue to affect the year-end technical points ranking of the Chinese Super League.