CFA denies Shenhua's bid to leave

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has rejected the Shanghai Shenhua Football Club's application to move to Kunming, Yunnan province, domestic media reported Tuesday.

The CFA denied the application because Shenhua didn't submit the required documents and failed to complete the procedures necessary to move the team, according to a report on the G-Sports Channel.

To complete the application, the CFA asked Shenhua to submit an agreement signed by its six shareholders and cancel the club's registration in Shanghai, the report said. The club also needed the approval of the sports bureaus in Shanghai and Kunming.

The club submitted its application to the CFA and the Shanghai Football Association Tuesday to fulfill a promise to an investor, a Kunming-based company that offered it an initial investment of 30 million yuan ($4.94 million) earlier this year to move the team to Kunming, the report said.

The Kunming-based company offered assistance to Shenhua when other companies were unwilling to help. In exchange, it asked Shenhua to move its home field to Kunming for three years.

Established in 1993, Shenhua, whose name means "Shanghai's flower," is the city's most popular soccer club in the Chinese Super League.

The club has been in dire financial straits recently, which caused salary payments to be delayed. In January, it lost Didier Drogba, one of its highest profile players.

By applying to move the team, Shenhua wants to attract public attention to its financial problems with the hope of receiving a bailout from the local government, said Liu Yue, a G-Sports soccer commentator and a former member of China's national soccer team.

With the application, Shenhua had hoped to force the municipal government to offer financial assistance, said Tang Hui, a soccer commentator with the Hisports.com. However, the government, which lost confidence in Shenhua after its corruption and match-fixing scandals, as well as its poor performance, would not compromise.

Tang told the Global Times that it is likely Shenhua will move if it does not receive government support.

The Global Times failed to contact the club by press time Wednesday.

Shenhua's management company told the Beijing Times Tuesday that it has made up its mind to move to Kunming and plans to complete the required procedures.