£320m Mega Signings: But this was the Crowd for the first game of the New Chinese Super League Season
The Chinese Super League may be awash with riches but the new season started in embarrassing fashion.
Guizhou Zhicheng’s 52,888-seater stadium lacked one crucial element to the opener… supporters.
Despite the hype and fanfare surrounding the lucrative league, a stadium ban was enforced for the hosts.
Only now has their sanction been enforced as the match against Lianoning Whowin took place without supporters or atmosphere, finishing in a 1-1 draw.
The subdued spectacle at Guiyang Olympic Sports Centre was a marked contrast to last season’s frivolities in an extravagant opening ceremony.
Jiangsu Suning spent between £6-11million on opening day with a spectacle to thrill fans ahead of the 2015-16 season.
The CSL has made waves in the footballing world, tipping the financial scales and attracting some big names to the far east.
Oscar, Carlos Tevez and Odion Ighalo moved in the winter transfer window, with Chinese clubs splashing out a total of £320million on new players.
The scheduling of the opening game behind closed doors appears to be an absurd decision with the momentum built up by the league.
More eyes than ever are being turned towards the CSL, just not in the stadium itself it seems.
Leave a Reply