At 13:00 beijing time on April 11, the AFC officially announced that Shanghai Harbor withdrew from the AFC Champions League, leaving only Guangzhou and Shandong Taishan two teams in the Chinese Super League to participate.
On March 1, Changchun Yatai announced that it would abandon the AFC Champions League play-offs, becoming the first team in the Chinese Super League to retire. 41 days after Changchun Yatai announced its retirement, Shanghai Harbor also withdrew from the AFC Champions League, so there were only two teams left in the Chinese Super League, they were Shandong Taishan and Guangzhou.
Last season, only two teams in the Chinese Super League also participated in the main tournament, they were Guangzhou and Beijing Guoan, because the Chinese Super League champion Jiangsu Suning was disbanded, the FA Cup champion Shandong Taishan was disqualified, and the substitute Shanghai Haigang was eliminated by the Philippine team Kaya in the play-offs. The youth team sent by Guangzhou and Beijing Guoan in the AFC Champions League group stage are all 6 games and 0 wins at the bottom, Beijing Guoan is a little better than Guangzhou team, that is, in the United City FC win to get the only 1 point, but Guangzhou team is 6 games 0 points.
This season, due to the conflict with the AFC Champions League schedule and the Chinese Super League, the participating teams in the Chinese Super League still sent youth teams to play. Because of the poor record in the AFC Champions League in recent years, the AFC Champions League quota in the Chinese Super League next season has changed from "3+1" to "2+2", if it continues like this, I am afraid that "2+2" will not be saved.
According to the official AFC, Shanghai Harbor has withdrawn from this season's AFC Champions League due to travel restrictions. Originally, the group where Shanghai Harbor was located was left with only three teams: Chiangrai United, Jiezhi and Kobe Victory Ship.
Shanghai Harbor has missed the AFC Champions League for two consecutive seasons, and their last AFC Champions League match was in the 2020 AFC Champions League quarterfinals, when they were eliminated 2-0 by Iniesta-led Kobe Victory Ship.
The withdrawal of Shanghai Harbor is also a big blow to Chinese football. Originally, because of the epidemic, young players in China rarely had the opportunity to play against foreign teams, and the Dubai Cup some time ago was only the first time that a national Olympic player participated in an international warm-up tournament in the past 2 years. Now that Shanghai Harbor has withdrawn from the AFC Champions League, their young people have one less chance to exercise.
For Iniesta's Kobe Victory Ship, the shanghai harbor retirement is undoubtedly a good news, the first is that there are only 2 opponents left in the group, on the other hand, it can play 2 games less and have more time to rest. They reached the top 4 for their first AFC Champions League in 2020, and this season their goal is definitely to go further.