The FA Cup final has been approved for opening to spectators, and the new Asian Cup venue will witness the birth of a new champion

Sichuan Chengdu Phoenix Mountain Football Stadium

Recently, the Chinese Football Association has drawn up a competition plan for the final of the 2021 FA Cup. According to the plan, the competition will be held at 7.30pm on January 9 next year. The venue is scheduled to be one of the venues of the 2023 Asian Cup, the new Chengdu Phoenix Mountain Football Stadium. It is understood that the Chinese Football Association also plans to open the game to the audience. However, whether it can be achieved is subject to the approval of the higher sports management department.

After the start of the second phase of the Chinese Super League on December 12 this season, the planning of the FA Cup final, another grand finale of the same season in domestic football, is also quite interesting.

In fact, from the perspective of the original intention of the tournament and the promotion and operation of the event, the Chinese Football Association has widely solicited candidates for the final of the FA Cup from member associations around the world. As early as the interval between the Chinese Super League, there were rumors that no less than 3 cities, including Guangzhou and Suzhou, the two major Cities in the Chinese Super League and Chengdu, were among the candidates for the FA Cup Final.

However, affected by the epidemic, both the Chinese Football Association and relevant cities have always tightened the "string of epidemic prevention and control" on the issue of hosting the games, and have also prepared various plans for the selection of venues. For example, not long ago, there was news that considering that Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Haigang, which advanced to the final of the FA Cup, have both entered the second stage of the Chinese Super League championship group, and there are many international players in the two teams. Therefore, from the perspective of epidemic prevention and cooperation with the national football team, the organizers of the event may arrange the final of the FA Cup in guangzhou, which undertakes the Chinese Super League championship group event.

On December 14, Beiqing-Beijing Toutiao learned that the Chinese Football Association has recently drawn up a competition plan for the FINAL OF the FA Cup, which will be reported to the higher sports management department. Among them, the kick-off time of the game is planned to be scheduled at 7:30 pm on January 9 (Sunday) next year. As for the venue of the game, it was initially set at the Chengdu Phoenix Mountain Football Stadium.

Chengdu Phoenix Mountain Football Stadium, one of the venues of the 2023 Asian Cup, was officially inaugurated in March this year, and is a modern professional football stadium that can accommodate 60,000 spectators. Judging from the situation reflected by the relevant channels, the stadium is of high quality near turf, and it has also received the most professional maintenance, and in terms of hardware conditions, it is fully capable of undertaking the final of the FA Cup. If such a top-level event can be used as the "opening battle" of the new stadium, it will undoubtedly make the fans feel excited.

The Chinese Football Association also plans to apply to open the game to live spectators. Since the game time coincided with the weekend evening, this actually attracted spectators to the game. As of the afternoon of December 14, the Chinese Football Association has not disclosed the specific arrangements for this match. However, combined with the reality that domestic professional leagues and FA Cup events at all levels have been affected by the epidemic in the past two seasons, and the income from the box office and other revenues has fallen sharply, Chinese professional football also needs to get a morale boost at the spiritual and event management level through the successful holding of an FA Cup final.

Last week, the China Football Federation Preparatory Group announced through official channels that the second stage of the Chinese Super League is temporarily closed to the public. Then if the FA Cup final can be opened to fans live, it will undoubtedly be welcomed by fans. Of course, epidemic prevention work has always been the top priority of the competition, and whether the plan can finally be approved or not still needs to be approved by the relevant parties.

Text/Beiqing Sports Xiao Zhao