BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Tianjin Tianhai football club announced on Friday that they will get from their future owners a sponsored fund, which is assumed to be vital for it to obtain eligibility to play in this season's Chinese Super League (CSL).
The debt-ridden Tianjin FC has been trying to convince the Chinese Football Association (CFA) of its eligibility since March 13 when Vantone Holdings Co., Ltd., one of the largest real estate investment companies in Beijing, agreed to take over.
But a CFA rule, which stipulates that any takeover of the CSL clubs should be completed by January 10, turned out to be an insurmountable hurdle for the club.
The club is reportedly trying to bypass the rule by taking a new approach -- a call off the agreed takeover deal and getting money from Vantone as a sponsor.
"We have everything ready except the sponsored money that Vantone has promised to transfer to our club's account," the club said on its Weibo account on Friday.
This club's new approach is expected to work.
"Tianjin Tianhai said that they had reached an agreement with Vantone, according to which Vantone will offer 250 million yuan to the club in the form of sponsorship," said a report by The Beijing News on Friday.
"Thus the issue will no longer be entangled over the belated takeover, and if Tianjin Tianhai has enough funds for the new season's operation, its eligibility problem will be sorted out," the report said.
Tianjin FC has become the focal point of Chinese football as the CFA has been stalling over ruling on its eligibility to take part in the 2020 campaign -- the start of which has been delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Chinese football governing body has been urged to make a prompt ruling by various voices including two letters which emerged on the internet and claimed to be endorsed by all Tianjin Tianhai fans.
Some fans accused the CFA of shifting responsibility when they learned that it had put this issue to vote at a meeting attended by some other clubs' representatives on Wednesday.
The Tianjin FC, whose debts are reported to be around 145 million U.S. dollars, had seen 13 players depart while failing to make a single signing during the off-season.
This club's future had been thrown into uncertainty after its former owner Quanjian, a pharmaceutical company, was embroiled in a false marketing scandal, and the Tianjin Football Association stepped in to take over in January, 2019.
Tianjin Tianhai narrowly avoided relegation in 2019 and the club's financial struggles had led to speculations that it may not be able to participate in the 2020 campaign.
