Month: February 2023

Live broadcast on August 30, Wuhan Sanzhen announced that investors would no longer inject capital from September 1. Football News exclusively interviewed Fang Silong, the general manager of Wuhan Sanzhen club, and Mr. Fang also answered many issues of concern to the outside world one by one. ◆ football: Why did investors decide not to inject capital into the three town clubs? Fang Silong: in fact, as a local real estate enterprise, the investor of our club is unknown in terms of influence, economic scale and profitability among the investors of the 16 Super League football clubs, to be honest, such a large enterprise is not enough to support a Super League football club all the time. Especially in recent years, the real estate industry is not as prosperous as it was in previous years. As practitioners, our investors are also unable to be isolated, and the operation is becoming more and more difficult and the pressure is increasing, this forces investors to do single-choice questions between the main business and the club, choose not to inject capital into three towns, reduce expenses, and focus on the main business. In fact, it is an inevitable move for enterprises under the hardship. ◆ as a club manager, how do you feel after knowing that investors do not continue to invest? I am really grateful to the investors for their firm investment and support to the club and their trust in our working ability over the years. If there is no investor’s love for the football career and his love for Wuhan football, the club will not develop so fast, nor will it have such achievements today. Moreover, the club has been investing sole shareholder continuously for many years. Most sponsors are only partners and the amount of sponsorship is limited. Therefore, the club also understands very well under what circumstances investors make such a difficult decision. If an enterprise wants to develop, it must survive. Under such a background, continue to invest in football, obviously, it is unrealistic to make investors unable to do so. ◆ have you disclosed this to the team members and staff in advance? What are their thoughts and attitudes? The club has held an emergency meeting to inform the players about the current situation of the club, requiring all the club personnel to stick to their posts, fight difficulties with the club and actively save themselves. In fact, it was very early for investors to put an end to capital injection. The team and staff were prepared for this. We also held some meetings and made some requests, I believe everyone can correctly face this situation. So far, everyone is actively facing the difficulties of reality. I believe that with the support of provincial and municipal governments, the club will get better and better, and I believe that Wuhan football will have a good future. ◆ Speaking of self-help, how does the club plan to complete self-help? Sanzhen is a small club. It is very difficult to be self-sufficient without the investment of investors. The club is also actively seeking share reform. We know very well that the club should develop in a lasting and stable manner. Share reform is the primary task at present. As we mentioned in the briefing, we urgently reported the difficulties faced by the club to the provincial and municipal governments and relevant departments. As far as we know, after knowing our situation, the provincial and municipal governments are taking active actions to help us solve the difficulties. One is to solve the recent demand for the club to participate in the league and play the Asian Championship; second, the provincial and municipal governments have vigorously promoted the share reform plus-sized. At the same time, the club is also trying to reduce unnecessary expenses to cope with difficult times. It must be admitted that the club does not have hematopoietic function at present, but with the economic volume of Wuhan, there are so many good state-owned enterprises and so many football fans, I believe that with the support of provincial and municipal governments, the club will be able to overcome the difficulties, successfully finish the league and Asian Championship, and complete the share reform within the year. Here, also take this interview, please rest assured from all walks of life and fans. We think that football club is a product with public Attributes. Football is a social undertaking, a strong sports province, and a necessary industry for key cities. We have always firmly believed that Wuhan is a heroic city without difficulties that we cannot overcome. We also hope that relevant enterprises that love football and have the will to join and participate in the club. ◆ since it comes to share reform, when did the share reform work in Sanzhen begin? How is the progress so far? The stock reform is imperative for the club. Since winning the championship last year, both the club and investors know that the current ability cannot keep the club going for a long time and has been actively promoting this year. Investors showed the greatest sincerity so that new investors could enter. First of all, the club does not owe the salary, and investors transfer 100% equity at zero consideration. Secondly, the club survived for one day, and the base built at a cost of 0.15 billion yuan was used for one day for free. As of August 31, 2023, all the creditor’s rights and debts of the club were borne by the investors, ensuring that the club had zero liabilities on the day when the funds were stopped. Of course, investors will, as always, pay attention to supporting Wuhan football and cultivate Wuhan Youth training without changing their original intentions. This is already the greatest sincerity that investors have made. As far as we know, the provincial and municipal secondary governments have agreed to carry out the share reform and are taking the lead in actively communicating with all relevant parties so as to achieve a decisive breakthrough in the share reform. ◆ from your introduction, we can see the sincerity of investors and clubs. Starting from 2013, the youth training was set up. In order to make the growing children have a better stage in the later period, investors decided to set up professional teams. During these years, investors have always adhered to the principle of not paying back, especially in the case of difficult operation of the parent company, it can still pay wages and bonuses on time, giving players the best guarantee. Of course, the contribution of investors also made the team achieve four-year championship in four years. It can be seen that investors love football and are interested in football. They are also really trying to contribute to Wuhan football with practical actions. Therefore, investors offer such good conditions to retain Wuhan football, so that new shareholders can travel light without burden. More importantly, in order to keep the team competitive, with the support of investors, the club has introduced many powerful players, and investors also hope to build a competitive team, it can make Hubei Wuhan football continue to be in the ranks of glory in the top league. ◆ Ask a question of concern from the outside world. Since the financial pressure is difficult, why do you need a large number of signings this season? First of all, the recruitment work is completely club behavior. At the beginning of our establishment, our club was a complete long-term planning and team building strategy, creating a core competitiveness for Hubei province and Wuhan city, it is our original intention to become a professional football club with City and regional business cards. The first step of this plan is to attract excellent players from home and abroad to gather together and quickly form a combat team, which can bring achievements to cities and regions as soon as possible; part of the second step is actually the recruitment work this year to further improve the staff Reserve, which also includes before opening the window next year, we will continue to introduce 4 to 5 best young players after 00 to continuously optimize the team structure. The third step of planning is to improve the training quality and management level at the same time, send our youth training players to professional platforms at all levels for exercise, and strive to make these young players grow up within 3-5 years, and finally build a core competitiveness within 5 years, professional teams focusing on their own youth training. Of course, it should be pointed out that such a plan is based on the club’s rational investment and scientific design, and does not change with the change of investors. In the process of implementing the plan, the club always insists on this point. First of all, in order to maintain our competitiveness, our annual investment is about 0.3 billion, and a large number of our players are introduced free of charge, daily operations are also refined management. ◆ from the middle championship to the Super League to the Asian Championship, in four years, three towns set many records and won many honors. At the same time, they also accumulated many fans. What do you want to say about them? First of all, on behalf of Wuhan Sanzhen football club, I would like to express my gratitude to the fans who have been supporting us all these years. You are the witnesses and witnesses of the four-year crown glory, and also the inexhaustible power source of the team. In your cheers and shouts, we fought side by side to defeat every strong enemy, this honor also belongs to the fans of Wuhan Sanzhen. Next, the club will face the most serious crisis since its establishment, and we will do our best to keep the top league fire. At a critical moment, I hope every fan can support the team as always and work together with us to tide over the difficulties.