Soccer-Investors to withdraw funding from Chinese champions Wuhan

The club won the Chinese Super League title last season for the first time and are due to be one of China's three representatives in the Asian Champions League starting on Sept.

Investors in Chinese Super League champions Wuhan Three Towns have told the club they are prepared to give it away for nothing after announcing that they will withdraw funding at the end of the month.

Wuhan said in a statement on Monday that they had received a letter from the unnamed investors stating they would no longer fund the organisation from Sept. 1 but would ensure "the club has zero debt on the date of stopping the investment". An emergency meeting was held to discuss efforts to ensure the club would continue to honour playing commitments until the end of the Chinese Super League season.

Wuhan are sixth in the standings, 14 points behind leaders Shanghai Port with six games remaining. The club won the Chinese Super League title last season for the first time and are due to be one of China's three representatives in the Asian Champions League starting on Sept. 18.

Wuhan's issues come with Chinese soccer continuing to struggle financially as a result of the country's economic slowdown following the COVID-19 pandemic and difficulties experienced by the property development sector. Jiangsu FC, winners of the Chinese Super League in 2020, shut down three months after lifting the domestic title when owners Suning Holdings Group announced they were pulling their funding and no replacement was found.

Twice Asian champions Guangzhou FC, meanwhile, were relegated last year after winning eight Chinese Super League titles in nine seasons due to the financial challenges faced by owners China Evergrande, the world's most indebted developers. Guangzhou had led the spending spree during which China became a prime destination for foreign players and coaches, with the club spending lavishly to sign World Cup winners Marcello Lippi and Luiz Felipe Scolari to lead them to the continental title.

Guangzhou are 12th in the 16-team second division.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)