In late February, after the news came out that the New Season of the Chinese Super League was expected to resume the home-away format, most fans were in a state of "half sea water and half flame", both excited about the possibility of going to the scene to see the ball, but also worried about whether it could be finally realized. The Chinese Football Association has received a reply from all clubs about the "resumption of home-away transfer letters", and it is exciting that 18 Chinese Super League clubs and the vast majority of Chinese League A clubs have agreed to resume home and away games, and most of the clubs' local football associations have also expressed support. This means that there is no resistance at the level of clubs and local football associations. However, this is only the first step in restoring the home-and-away format, and there is still a lot of concrete and complex work to be done.
On February 23, the Chinese Football Association issued a "Letter of Consultation from the Chinese Football Association on the Resumption of Home and Away Games in the Professional League in the 2022 Season" to clubs, and according to the requirements, last night was the deadline for replying to this business letter, although some clubs are currently in a state of stagnation, but they still responded on time. According to statistics, all 18 clubs in the Chinese Super League agreed to restore the home and away format; most of the 18 clubs in the Chinese First Division agreed to restore; only some clubs in the Chinese Second Division expressed support, and other clubs refused because of venue or financial concerns. Next, the Chinese Football Association and the China Football Federation will promote the work of the new season of the Chinese Super League and the Chinese First Division according to the home and away competition format, and the specific format of the Chinese Second League needs further consultation and communication.
In fact, the vast majority of clubs support the restoration of the home and away format as early as expected, on the one hand, the restoration of the home and away format is more conducive to the clubs to attract investment and give back to the rights and interests of sponsors and shareholders. Like the Cangzhou lion, the reason why the moving rumors made some time ago is because the investment in Cangzhou has not seen a return, and the investment interest and support will naturally be reduced. On the other hand, many players have obvious boredom with long-term tournament system matches, especially in the case of salary arrears in many clubs, such pressure is more likely to erupt, Wu Jingui, who has just taken over the Shenhua coaching whip, admitted that many players have "family members will complain, people can't see it, money can't see it, and players are prone to ideological baggage." Especially under the pressure of the new season may produce three relegated teams, the psychological and mental pressure of the players needs to be adjusted.
However, it is worth noting that although all Chinese Super League clubs have agreed, there are still some local football associations that have not yet expressed their position or said that they are communicating, in addition, the Chinese Football Association has not mandatory for clubs to issue local government licenses now, that is to say, the response of clubs to the Chinese Football Association only shows that "the club has the ability to host the home games of the new season". In addition, in addition to obtaining the approval of relevant departments in various places, the Chinese Football Association and the China Football Federation also need to apply to the relevant departments to issue clear guiding opinions, so that all localities can operate according to regulations. For example, what situations can open the stands and what circumstances can not? What is the proportion of grandstands open? Are local fans allowed in, or are fans from all low-risk areas allowed? Workflow of relevant security and epidemic prevention inspections, etc.
It is precisely because there are still a variety of uncertainties, when discussing the specific implementation plan of the leagues at all levels in the new season, the "staged, grouped double-round-robin home-and-away format" similar to the Chinese League A last season has been generally recognized. That is to say, the 18 Chinese Super League teams are divided into three groups according to the results of last season, or according to the geographical location, each group of 6 teams. The whole league is divided into four stages, the first stage, the six teams in the group first play a home-and-away double round robin game, a total of 10 rounds; the second stage, the teams in different groups to rotate a certain amount, and then play 8 rounds, of which the teams that have met in the first stage will no longer meet; the third and fourth stages will take the same approach. In this way, a total of 34 rounds of "10+8+8+8" were held throughout the season, and the final scores were used to determine the results and rankings of each team.
This format is equivalent to "breaking up" the Chinese Super League, turning a big league with 18 teams into three small leagues with 6 teams, which greatly reduces the difficulty of adjusting the schedule due to the outbreak of the epidemic in a certain place. Once there is an extreme situation in which the home-and-away system cannot be continued, the groups can also be more conveniently concentrated in one place and continue to play in the tournament system, which not only reduces the pressure of schedule arrangement, but also has more operability. In addition, if grouped according to the snake-like arrangement of last season's results, the new season's Chinese Super League is like last season's Chinese League A, the fourth stage will become a real championship and relegation battle, each game will affect the situation of the entire league, and the spectacle of the game will be greatly improved. If the teams in the Yangtze River Delta region are grouped according to geographical location, such as the teams in the Yangtze River Delta region are divided into a group, the teams in the Greater Bay Area are divided into a group, and the teams in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are divided into a group, then there will be a number of derby battles in the first stage, which can also play a role in attracting fans and inspiring the ball market.