Lhasa Chengtou, Tibet’s only pro football team, quit after CFA refuse to let them play at home
- Lhasa Chengtou set to pull out of China League Two after they are denied permission to play home games in Tibet
- Club formed in 2017 would have played at one of world’s highest altitude grounds if Chinese FA had allowed
Tibet’s only professional football club is set to pull out of the Chinese football league after being refused permission to play in Tibet, according to reports.
The Lhasa Chengtou Football Club announced last week that they would disband after insiders told Chinese media that the CFA denied their request to play in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Players, coaches and employees of the club were told the news last week, although the club has not officially pulled out of the league yet. When they leave they will become the 17th team to pull out of Chinese football this season.
While most teams have pulled out because of financial issues, “Finance is not an issue for the team” their manager told The Global Times. The club is backed by the state-owned Lhasa Urban Construction Investment Management.
Lhasa Chengtou were set to play in the country’s third tier, China League Two, again this season. They finished 26th in the 32-team league last season.
The 2020 campaign was due to start in the spring but was delayed as China battled the coronavirus pandemic and there is still no official start date.
A CFA spokesperson told the Global Times that it is reviewing the situation with Tibet’s local sports bureau.
The club was formed as an amateur side in 2017 and turned professional the following year. They won promotion to play in the 2019 China League Two after beating Shenyang Dongjin 2-1 over two legs in a play-off, with the home leg moved from Tibet to Huizhou in Guandong province, some 3,650km away from Lhasa.
They were subsequently refused permission to play in Lhasa. Instead they played in Deyan, Sichuan province, 2,400km from Lhasa.
The Lhasa Recreational and Sports Centre which is at an altitude of 3,650m, is higher than the Estadio Hernando Siles Stadium in Bolivian capital La Paz, which is at 3,637m. Fifa briefly banned games over 2,500m but reneged after backlash.
Lhasa Chengtou have only played five games in Tibet, the Global Times reported, with two in Lhasa and three 400km away in Nyingch, which sits at 2,900m. When they did play in Lhasa, players had oxygen breaks every 15 minutes.
Tibetan police also had to deny rumours online that in one match six Shenzhen Pengcheng players were stretchered off due to altitude sickness.
