KUALA LUMPUR (Malaysia): China’s Jiangsu FC have withdrawn from the Asian Champions League due to lack of finances, officials said on Thursday.
Jiangsu won the Chinese Super League for the first time in November, but ceased operations last month.
The shock news provoked hand-wringing about the state of football in China, and prompted calls for a major rethink from top to bottom.
Their Champions League exit comes after Chinese FA Cup winners Shandong Taishan — formerly known as Shandong Luneng — were booted out of Asia’s top club tournament in February after breaking rules related to finances.
The Asian Football Confederation said the Chinese FA had confirmed Jiangsu’s withdrawal from the tournament.
South Korea’s Pohang Steelers and Thailand’s Ratchaburi now advance automatically to Group G, avoiding a play-off, it added.
The centralised matches for Group G will take place in Thailand from June 21 to July 7.
