At 4:22 a.m. local time on March 30, a flight carrying a delegation of Chinese men's football flew from Muscat, Oman to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and then the whole team immediately drove to the resident hotel in Sharjah. According to the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, due to the impact of the epidemic, the Entry Location of the Chinese Team and the Chinese U23 Team was adjusted from Shanghai to Haikou City. As the implementation of the itinerary will take time and a series of formalities, it is likely that the two national teams will remain in Sharjah for several days, and it is expected that they will not be able to leave for their home country until this weekend at the earliest. Also affected by the epidemic, the new season of the Chinese Super League may not be able to start on April 23 according to the initial schedule, and the Chinese Football Association and the Preparatory Group of the China Football Federation have made plans for the "league to start after May Day International Labor Day".
After defeating Oman with 2 goals in Muscat on the evening of March 29, local time, thus ending the trip of the Top 12 of the Asian Region of the World Preliminary Tournament, the Chinese team and its party left Muscat at 3:30 a.m. local time on the 30th, and then flew to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Because the flight distance between the two places is only more than 300 kilometers, the entire flight time is less than an hour, and the flight taken by the team also flew to Sharjah at 4:22 a.m. local time on the 30th.
Upon arrival at their destination, the team immediately drove to the four-point Sheraton hotel station. After receiving nucleic acid testing at the hotel and simply eating breakfast, the whole team returned to the room to rest in the early morning of the 30th local time.
It is understood that the Chinese team and the U23 national football team stationed in the same hotel originally planned to leave the UAE as soon as March 31 to return to China, then enter from Shanghai, and finally go to Suzhou to accept closed isolation and training at the same time. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, the two national teams had to adjust the entry location of the return to Haikou City. Due to the change of itinerary, the Chinese Football Association working group had to contact relevant parties to implement the return of the two teams. The specific details and procedures involved in the work are more complicated and take time, so the team has to stay in Sharjah for several days, and it is expected that the earliest departure will not be able to return home until around April 3.
According to the epidemic prevention regulations, after the two national teams return to China, all employees also need to strictly implement various epidemic prevention regulations, including medical isolation and observation. Therefore, once the two national teams leave for their home countries on April 3 or later, they will not be able to lift the quarantine until late April at the earliest. If the Chinese Super League is launched on April 23 as originally planned, it will be difficult for players from both teams to return to the club team in time to participate in the initial stages of the league.
In fact, due to the impact of the national epidemic, the new season of the Chinese Super League is likely to start in the form of a group competition. As for the start date, although the current first target of the Chinese Football Association and the Preparatory Group of the China Football Federation is still "4.23", the organizers of the event have still made plans for possible force majeure factors. That is to say, the new season of the Chinese Super League may not start until after the May Day holiday.
While actively promoting the preparations for the start of the league, the Preparatory Group of the Chinese Football Association and the China Football Federation is also stepping up the selection of the league candidate areas. It is reported that some cities, including Wuhan, are expected to undertake the first stage of the Chinese Super League in the new season. As for other arrangements, they need to be adapted to the actual situation.
Text/Beiqing Sports Xiao Zhao