Suning Severs Ties With Local Football Clubs: Who’s Next?

Financially-strapped Chinese conglomerate Suning has announced that it is shutting down Jiangsu FC just months after the team won its first Chinese Super League (CSL) title. 

Suning has confirmed that all its football clubs in China will cease operations with immediate effect as it looks to refocus on its core retail business in the country amid reported financial woes.

As well as Jiangsu FC’s men’s team, the decision also affects the club’s women’s side, who won the Chinese Women’s Super League in 2019, and its youth teams. 

A statement on Jiangsu FC’s official WeChat account expressed hope of finding new backers for the team or that a ‘company of insight’ would come forward to consult on the reiging CSL title winning club’s future. 

 “Even though we are reluctant to part with the players who have won us the highest honours, and fans who have shared solidarity with the club, we have to regretfully make an announcement,” read the statement, which added that the club has been looking around to seek a takeover for the past six months.

Uncertainty over Suning’s sport-related investments was sparked in mid-February, when Zhang Jindong, the group’s owner, ominously said in a video message that the company would “focus on retail business resolutely” and “close and cut down” its interests “irrelevant to retail business without hesitation”.

The fall of Jiangsu FC will be cause of further concern for Serie A behemoth Inter Milan, who have been majority owned by Suning since 2016.

BBC Sport cited a Suning source who said that the company’s latest decision will have no impact on the Italian football club, who in January were reported to be in investment talks with private equity firm BC Partners.

A report by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera says that new updates on talks between Inter and BC Partners are expected to take place soon. The newspaper is reporting that the London-headquartered investment firm has offered Suning US$903 million to buy the club, but that there is currently no agreement between the parties.