Guangxi Pingguo voluntarily gave up their entry! Players: The club never asked us to sign any documents

Reporter Wang Wei reports On the evening of December 26, the Chinese Football Association released the second batch of clubs that completed debt clearance for the 2026 season. Among the 10 clubs that failed the first batch, only Guangxi Pingguo was missing from the list, indicating that the team relegated from China League One this year has lost its eligibility for the 2026 season.

Guangxi Pingguo Football Club did not appear in the second batch of debt clearance list published by the CFA on December 26, meaning they will lose their qualification to participate in the professional league in 2026. The CFA clearly stated in the official announcement: "Guangxi Pingguo Football Club did not meet the debt repayment requirements and failed the 2026 professional league admission review." Additionally, the CFA emphasized: "The CFA will strictly review all admission materials submitted by clubs. Only those clubs that pass the debt clearance announcements in the first and second batches and other admission material reviews will be granted access to the 2026 professional leagues at all levels."

From the two statements issued by the CFA, it appears that even clubs listed as having cleared debts are not guaranteed admission. On one hand, the CFA rigorously examines all admission documents submitted by clubs; on the other hand, if any creditors raise objections during the announcement period, they may submit relevant materials to the CFA for handling. Although the public notice period for the second batch of debt clearance is from December 29 to 31, it is already clear that Guangxi Pingguo will be absent from the 2026 Chinese professional football league landscape.

It is regrettable that the team carrying seven years of hope for Guangxi fans now bids farewell to professional football. All efforts from Guangxi to preserve professional football have been in vain. The direct cause for Guangxi Pingguo’s downfall was failure to avoid relegation in the 2025 China League One season. The relegation outcome caused the investors to lose confidence, making it impossible for the club to continue operating, which left fans in Guangxi and Pingguo both disappointed and helpless.

During the 2025 China League One season, Guangxi Pingguo struggled on the brink of relegation. Reviewing the whole season, the team faced significant challenges in organization, player recruitment, and injuries. Initially, most recruited players lacked experience in China League One, many having only played in League Two or lower divisions, which made winning difficult at the start. Their first victory came only in the 11th round with a 1-0 home win against fellow relegated Qingdao Red Lions. By the halfway point (15 rounds), the team had only 1 win, 4 draws, and 10 losses, accumulating just 7 points, ranking last in the league. Due to unsatisfactory results, Guangxi Pingguo had to terminate the contract with then head coach Zhou Lin midway through the season.

Subsequently, Guangxi Pingguo hired Japanese coach Koji Maeda as head coach and made new signings during the second transfer window. As Maeda’s tactical system gradually took shape, the team’s form improved for a period, including an away draw against Chongqing Tongliang Long and away wins over Guangzhou Leopards and Foshan Nanshi, briefly raising hopes of survival. However, during the critical relegation phase, the team was hit by injuries, especially to foreign player Asamoah, leaving only one foreign player available. This weakened the overall squad strength and morale at a crucial time, ultimately leading to their relegation.

Guangxi Pingguo was relegated with 25 points, just 3 points shy of safety. While this seems unfortunate on the surface, internal issues made relegation almost inevitable—salary arrears had severely dampened morale.

Throughout the season, although Guangxi Pingguo fought to avoid relegation, after Koji Maeda took over as coach, the team had a remarkable run collecting points, showing a real chance to stay up. But in the latter part of the league, the club failed to pay the promised back wages and bonuses on time, causing a sharp decline in the survival prospects. After the season, when discussing how unpaid wages affected team performance, coaching staff and several players expressed both regret and frustration: "The club didn’t pay the owed wages on time in the final stages and never fulfilled promises even after the season ended. If they had honored those commitments promptly, the team had a strong chance to secure survival early." A key player said.

On the night before the CFA announced the second batch of debt-cleared clubs on December 26, Guangxi Pingguo players suddenly received a message on December 25 stating there was a 99% chance the team would fail the admission process. At that moment, players panicked. Many said the club never asked them to sign any documents confirming debt repayment. In other words, without asking players to sign, the club had already given up trying to qualify. This led many players to suspect the club voluntarily abandoned the admission process.

After the second batch of debt clearance list was published on December 26, Guangxi Pingguo was indeed absent. One player said: "The team has disbanded, but as a team member, I only found out about this result online. The club never gave any explanation or told players they could look for new teams. Not a single word of explanation." Some players were furious: "The club really knows how to handle things badly. From the end of the league until now, have they even thought about solving the problem? Have they considered the players’ careers?"

According to current information, after Guangxi Pingguo completed its shareholding reform in the 2025 season, although investment decreased compared to 2024, the salary standards were not low by China League One standards. Player salaries ranged roughly from 10,000 to 20,000 RMB, which is higher than many other League One clubs. Also, as of October, the club’s wage payments were better than many other clubs in the league.

Several Guangxi Pingguo players said that this year the club paid wages up to September. That means before signing the debt clearance documents, players were only missing October’s wages. If the club had paid October’s salary on time or provided a reasonable explanation or written promise to coaches and players, it would have been much easier for them to sign off and help the club pass the admission process.

"After the team was relegated, regarding wage clearance and admission, before the first debt clearance declaration, the club contacted some players individually, and some did sign. But before the second declaration, most players did not receive any calls or instructions from the club about what to do or sign. The club never discussed clearance, signing, or admission with us. We only learned online that our team failed admission and would disband from professional football," multiple Guangxi Pingguo players said. "Before the second declaration, the club did not ask us to sign anything. Looking back, it seems the club had already decided to give up."

When discussing the failure to gain admission due to unpaid wages, Guangxi Pingguo players expressed gratitude to the Pingguo city government for supporting the team: "We all know this year’s wages were funded by local government support, so we understand the club’s difficulties. Thanks to Pingguo city’s backing, before applying for admission this year, only October’s wages remained unpaid. Counting November and December, only three months of wages were unpaid to players and coaches. Compared to other League One clubs, Pingguo’s wage payments were relatively good. What puzzles us is why the club never asked players to sign and why they showed no sense of urgency."

Although the amount of wages owed to players by Guangxi Pingguo this year was not large, the CFA’s required debt clearance period covers from October 2024 to October 2025, spanning seasons. This means wage and bonus arrears from the 2024 season were also included in this year’s admission review. The accumulated unpaid wages over two seasons may have overwhelmed the current Guangxi Pingguo club.

"That might be the case. At the end of the 2024 season, to help the club pass admission, I finally signed, but the club still owed me nearly 200,000 RMB in wages. They promised to pay me in the 2025 season, but I haven’t received it yet," one player said. This shows that the failure to pass admission was due to longstanding issues accumulated over two seasons, not just this year’s debts.

It is also reported that toward the end of the 2025 season and after relegation, several companies showed interest in acquiring Guangxi Pingguo and had direct talks. However, they failed to reach agreements on resolving historical debts, which ultimately led to the current outcome.

According to the CFA’s two batches of clubs that completed debt clearance for the 2026 professional league, Guangxi Pingguo became the first club from the 2025 Chinese Super League and China League One to lose admission eligibility. This means Guangxi Pingguo will not participate in the professional league in 2026. While Guangxi fans feel sorrow and regret over this result, the club’s players face even more troubling challenges ahead.

Players interviewed from Guangxi Pingguo told reporters that the team’s disbandment is beyond repair. They are currently discussing ways to recover the last three months’ wages of 2025 smoothly. "If the club cannot resolve this or provide a solution promptly, we will first seek help from labor protection authorities, and if that fails, we may consider legal action," they said.

Besides unpaid wages, Guangxi Pingguo players also need to claim social insurance contributions that were withheld. Several players said: "From what we know, the club only paid social insurance up to July this year, leaving five months unpaid. We hope the club can find a way to make these payments on time. We will protect our legal rights through proper channels."