China's football club Chang'an Athletic introduces lifelong membership program

Chinese second-tier football club Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic has unveiled a program of lifelong membership sale in an effort to raise enough funds for the new season.

Chang'an Athletic was deducted six points for unpaid salaries last season. The Xi'an-based club announced the program on its social media account on Monday, one day before the deadline for Chinese professional clubs to submit documents to the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to prove their financial viability.

"As the club's structural reform needs time, the club is facing huge difficulties," Chang'an Athletic said in a statement.

A total of 11,010 "founding lifelong memberships" were put on sale, with the most expensive ones priced at 100,000 yuan (about 14,830 US dollars).

The club added that if it fails to pass the CFA's financial check, which means disqualification from the league, those who have purchased the memberships will be refunded.

The CFA is expected to announce its financial check results in the coming days amid speculations that several clubs will be left out of the admission list for the new season.