January 18 – China’s most successful football club, Dalian Shide FC, is in danger of going out of business after a proposed merger with local rivals Dalian Aerbin FC was blocked by the Chinese Football Association (CFA).
Dalian Shide’s troubles began when its wealthy owner Xu Ming one of China’s richest men and the owner of the Shide Group was caught up in the scandal surrounding disgraced former politician Bo Xilai.
Xu was a close associate of Xilai and was reportedly detained last March, on the same day Bo was sacked as party chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing. He is believed to still be in detention.
With its funding cut off, Dalian Shide were forced to look for alternative solutions. China Super League regulations do not allow one club to own another in the same league and so the proposed merger with its wealthier neighbour was disallowed.
This week Dalian Shide reapplied for its place in the Chinese Super League but while its membership may meet the requirements of the league it is unclear that it will have the finance to be able to play.
Shide, were founded in 1982 and have won eight Chinese league titles. The club won the Jia A League, China’s first professional league, in its inaugural season in 1994, and won six more Jia A titles before winning the rebranded CSL in 2005. Shide is one of only two Chinese clubs to reach the final of Asia’s top club championship, the current AFC Champions League.
Shide were famous in 2000, at the height of their success, for being pulled out of the league by their owner Wang Jianlin who publicly criticised Chinese referees for match-fixing, In January 2009 the club was sold to the Shide Group.
Dalian Aerbin was founded in 2009 and backed by one of China’s largest construction companies, the Aerbin Group. The club recently sign former Paris Saint-Germain player Hoarau on a three year deal, reportedly doubling his salary.
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