The day after the verdict of the first instance of the Evergrande case was announced, the Evergrande Football School also underwent a “name change”. The original sign of “Evergrande Football School” has been removed, and the plaque of Guangzhou Sports Institute is already prepared.
According to a public notice released by the National Enterprise Bankruptcy Reorganization Information Network on August 21, the draft reorganization plan of Evergrande Football School was approved by the creditors’ meeting, and the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court has ruled to approve the reorganization plan, with Guangzhou Sports Institute confirmed as the reorganization investor. Earlier, the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court had ruled on May 13 to accept the bankruptcy reorganization case of Evergrande Football School. Through public recruitment and negotiation procedures, Guangzhou Sports Institute ultimately became the reorganization investor.
According to a report by “21st Century Economic Herald”, insiders revealed that Guangzhou Sports Institute participated in the reorganization of Evergrande Football School with a total amount of 600 million yuan, of which 4.9 billion yuan was used to resolve debts, and 1.1 billion yuan was used to support the operation and development of the school after reorganization. Huacheng News quoted insiders as saying that the assessed liquidation value of the related assets of Evergrande Football School as of May 13, 2026 was 4.1 billion yuan.
Evergrande Football School was founded in 2011. In 2021, Evergrande Group fell into a debt crisis and defaulted on US dollar bonds. Subsequently, funding was cut off, and Evergrande Football School also faced financial difficulties.
According to insiders, Evergrande Football School continuously downsized its scale of students and faculty. The number of students decreased from over a thousand in 2021 to less than 500 currently, and the faculty was reduced to just over 130 people. While cutting expenses, the school barely maintained its operation by hosting and organizing various events, training sessions, winter and summer camps, and securing commercial sponsorships.
On August 20, the first-instance verdict of the Evergrande Group, Evergrande Real Estate, and Xu Jiayin case was publicly announced by the Guangdong Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court. Xu Jiayin was convicted on eight charges, including illegal absorption of public deposits, illegal use of funds, and embezzlement of duties, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of all personal assets.