Mainland soccer club managers are seeing red over a proposal by national sports authorities to curtail the domestic league next year to accommodate the Olympic campaign.
Details of the initiative, still under discussion among Chinese Football Association officials in Beijing, were leaked to the media on Wednesday.
The key point is that the league season, which usually runs for seven months, would have to be condensed into a three-month window after the Games finish next August. A tournament format could be adopted instead of the normal home-and-away schedule.
The plan, apparently taking its cue from a similar move by the Chinese Basketball Association last year, is intended to allow the Olympic team more time for training and match tours before the Games. The U-23 national side, under Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic, qualify automatically as Games hosts.
The leaked proposals sparked outrage among club managers, who said the scheme would wreak havoc on the sport financially and be devastating to the careers of the majority of mainland footballers.
'The proposal is the last thing we want to hear,' said Wu Jinan, the general manager of Shanghai Shenhua. 'It would undermine the commitment of sponsors to soccer.'
