Tickets for CSL opener sell out 'in five minutes'
The new Chinese Super League season kicks off on Saturday after three years of Covid controls with tickets reportedly selling out in just five minutes for the biggest match of the opening weekend. The remodelled Workers' Stadium in the capital will stage the opening ceremony and a clash between hosts Beijing Guoan and Meizhou Hakka, one of four games on Saturday to get the campaign underway. After restrictions placed on Chinese football since the Covid pandemic, including games in secure "bubbles" and limits on attendances, fans will be able to see their beloved teams home and away again. The Global Times newspaper reported there will be a capacity 68,000 crowd to watch title-contenders Beijing play Meizhou and said that tickets sold out in five minutes when they went on sale on Thursday. The newspaper said it will be the first match since the stadium underwent a vast rebuild and called it "the perfect location for the start of a new era in Chinese soccer". Defending champions Wuhan Three Towns are also in action on Saturday when they host a Shanghai Port side containing the former Chelsea and Brazilian international Oscar. President Xi Jinping wants the nation to one day host and even win a World Cup, but the national men's side languish in 81st in the Fifa rankings. (AFP)