On the third day of 2024, the two new foreign players of the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, Škorić and Fioric, completed a physical examination in Tianjin, and then reported to Tianjin Jinmen Tigers Football Club, and in the afternoon, the two flew to Haikou to meet the team.
Australian centre-back Grant and two Spanish assistant coaches, who focus on set-piece training and physical rehabilitators, are still awaiting visas.
In addition, the question of the foreign aid center that fans are very concerned about has also been basically answered, and the current candidate has been basically determined, and the next step is to draw up and implement the contract as soon as possible, and help him come to China to join the team's winter training.
Also on January 3, the Chinese Football Association issued a series of policy documents, including "further relaxing restrictions on the number of foreign players on the field", "appropriately relaxing the restrictions on club relocation and equity transfer", and "allowing clubs to name their teams in the 2024-2028 season".
The Chinese Football Association has taken multiple measures to stimulate the vitality of the professional league and promote the development of Chinese football through the "breakthrough" of the professional league.
The Chinese Football Association's introduction of the new policy is actually traceable.
At the end of November last year, the Chinese Football Association and the preparatory group of the Chinese Football Federation held a professional league work meeting in Suzhou, at which there were rumors that the league would be adjusted in the new season.
In mid-December last year, the Chinese Football Association issued the "Notice on Soliciting Opinions on Relevant Policies of the Professional League in the 2024 Season" to the clubs of the third-level leagues, and conducted a survey to the clubs in the form of a questionnaire, which mainly includes three aspects: league-related policies, access requirements, and competition methods.
Among them, "neutral name" and "off-site transfer" are impressively listed.
After receiving the receipts from the clubs, the Chinese Football Association has fully deliberated and launched relevant documents for policy adjustments: "Regulations on the Management of the Names of Clubs and Teams in the Professional League of the Chinese Football Association (Trial)", "Regulations on the Change of Registered Member Associations and Equity Transfer of Clubs of the Men's Professional League of the Chinese Football Association (Trial)", and "Notice of the Chinese Football Association on Matters Concerning the Transfer and Registration of Players of the Chinese Super League, Chinese Football Association and Chinese Football Association in the 2024 Season".
The Regulations on the Administration of Club and Team Names of Professional Leagues of the Chinese Football Association (for Trial Implementation) allow professional clubs to seek title cooperation for their respective first teams and echelons from the 2024 season to the 2028 season while maintaining the neutral name of the club (non-corporate name).
With the ebb of "Jinyuan Football", a considerable number of domestic football clubs have encountered operational difficulties.
According to the statistics of the Chinese Football Association and the preparatory group of the Chinese Football Federation, from the 2018 season to the 2022 season, 44 clubs in the third level of Chinese professional football have been disqualified from the registration of the corresponding league, which is rare in international football.
In fact, the opening of the title is also the Chinese Football Association to create a more relaxed living space for clubs and create favorable conditions for the sustainable development of the league.
After all, the addition of the title company can add a real revenue channel for the club.
Of course, insisting on a neutral name and opening up naming rights go hand in hand, and the new regulations stipulate that the naming names of teams participating in the men's professional league should be regulated as: administrative division + club name + sponsor name + team. The name of the club's youth training echelon shall be implemented with reference to this article.
The Chinese Football Association will strictly approve the naming of club teams, and clearly require that the naming period of the club is at least one season, and the naming cannot be changed within the season.
The new rules will open the naming rights for a period of five years from the 2024 season to the 2028 season.
Whether or not this policy will continue after five years will depend on the situation at that time.
After the issuance of the "Regulations on the Management of Club and Team Names of the Professional League of the Chinese Football Association (Trial)", Zhejiang Professional Football Club issued an announcement on the title investment of the team for the 2024 season through its official channels, becoming the first Chinese Super League club to openly recruit title enterprises or brands from the public after the Chinese Football Association promulgated the new policy.
Of course, from the perspective of Tianjin fans, everyone is more concerned about what name "Little Tiger" can be called?
Let's call it next season, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club "???" team?
At the beginning of the season, the leaders of the Sports Bureau and the leaders of the club had to be busy for a while to attract investment, and after the signing of the sponsorship agreement, they should pay close attention to the implementation.
Thankfully, the hard work paid off.
At the end of June 2023, Tianjin TEDA Industrial Development Group Co., Ltd., Tianjin Tianbao Holdings Co., Ltd., Tianjin Haitai Holding Group Co., Ltd., Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co., Ltd., and Tianjin Dongjiang Investment Holding Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Tianjin Tigers Football Club.
These five enterprises correspond to the five economic functional zones of Binhai New Area: Development Zone, Free Trade Zone, High-tech Zone, Eco-City, and Dongjiang Bonded Port Area.
On August 9, 2023, the jersey of the Jinmen Tigers had a chest advertisement for the first time.
On September 29, 2023, the word "TEDA" reappeared on the jerseys of the Jinmen Tigers.
From the perspective of the Jinmen Tigers, the excellent results achieved by the whole team in the 2023 season, and the positive image established on and off the field, also make the sponsors feel that such an investment is worth it.
I believe that such a value for money can also open up the situation for the investment promotion work of the Jinmen Tiger Club in the 2024 season as soon as possible, and even attract enterprises from other places and even the whole country to join the ranks of sponsors.
At the same time, of course, I also hope that there will be sponsors willing to name Jinmen Tiger!
If the issue of title sponsorship can be successfully resolved, then the issue of the fifth foreign aid may no longer be a problem for the not very wealthy Jinmen Tiger club.
Please refer to the Notice of the Chinese Football Association on Matters Concerning the Transfer Registration of Players of the Chinese Super League, Chinese League A and China B Clubs in the 2024 Season.
The winter transfer period for the new season is from January 4 to February 28, 2024, the winter transfer period for China B is from January 4 to March 8, 2024, and the summer transfer period is from June 17 to July 15, 2024.
In terms of foreign aid policy, a Chinese Super League team can register a total of 7 foreign players in a single season, 6 foreign players can be registered at the same time, and a maximum of 5 foreign players can be registered for each game, and a maximum of 5 foreign players can be played at the same time. Compared to the 2023 season, the number of foreign players who can play at the same time has increased by 1. In short, the foreign aid policy of the Chinese Super League has changed from the original "7654" to "7655", and the foreign aid policy of the Chinese League has been adjusted from "4332" to "4333" in previous seasons.
The most important reason why the Chinese Football Association has relaxed the restrictions on foreign aid is to try to integrate with the Asian arena.
Whether in East Asia or West Asia, the gradual liberalization of foreign aid quotas is the trend of the times.
The AFC Champions League has also implemented the "5+1" foreign aid policy, and each team can send 6 foreign aides, including 1 Asian foreign player, to play at the same time in a single game.
The new foreign aid policy will help to improve the spectacle of the league and increase the competitiveness of the league, while forcing local players to continue to grow in full competition.
However, taking Chengdu Rongcheng as an example, if the lineup of "five foreign aid + Zhou Dingyang (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan players) + Aikesen (naturalized players)" is discharged, then there is indeed not much living space left for local players.
On the whole, the new policy introduced by the Chinese Football Association directly affects the league, hoping to achieve a breakthrough for Chinese football in a difficult situation by reviving the professional league. As for the effect, it remains to be seen how effective it is.
The Regulations on the Change of Registered Member Associations and Equity Transfer of Clubs of the Men's Professional League of the Chinese Football Association (for Trial Implementation) have attracted much attention, and the new regulations involve two key contents, namely the "conditional" relocation of clubs and the appropriate relaxation of the qualification review for equity transfer.
From an objective point of view, relocation is a realistic choice for some clubs in order to survive, but the frequent relocation of clubs is somewhat speculative, which brings great emotional damage to the fans in the moving area, and it is difficult to be accepted by the fans in the moving place as an outsider, the most representative example is the Beijing Renhe team that was disbanded before the start of the 2021 season, and the team has traveled to Shanghai, Shaanxi, Guizhou and other places.
Because of this, the Chinese Football Association has added many restrictions to the new rules on the relocation of clubs (changes in registered member associations).
The new regulations clearly stipulate that "if a club applies for a change of registered member association, it shall submit the relevant materials after the end of all competitions in the current season, and submit relevant materials no later than 10 working days before the announcement of the club admission list for the new season, and the club shall not apply for a change of registered member association during the season".
In principle, a club that has completed the change of registered member association shall not apply for the change of registered member association again within 5 years. The Chinese Football Association emphasized that even if it has the conditions to accept the relocation of the club, it still hopes that the club can build echelons at all levels and cultivate fan groups and fan culture in a relatively stable city.
In addition, the new regulations remove the restriction that the newly upgraded club shall not carry out important equity transfer within one year of the upgrade, and moderately relax the qualification review requirements for the transferor and transferee, so as to better adapt to the requirements of the club's equity diversification reform.
At the same time, the Chinese Football Association has formulated a number of detailed requirements for the conditions and procedures for the transfer of club equity. According to the procedure, the materials for the transfer of important equity of the club should be reported to the Chinese Football Association within 10 working days after the end of the current season and 10 working days before the announcement of the club's entry list for the new season.
Due to the complexity of the club's change of registered member associations and equity transfer, the Chinese Football Association will set up a special working group composed of professionals in legal, financial, access, league operation and other aspects to ensure the orderly connection between relevant work and access work.
The relevant person in charge of the Chinese Football Association said: "The policy adjustment is mainly to take into account the actual situation of some clubs, so that the club can get more support and resources, so that the club has better room for development." ”