Winning bonus of 1 billion! Chinese soccer scale is different. Owner's exciting promise to catch Seo Jung-won team

Aug 21, 2025

Winning bonus of 1 billion! Chinese soccer scale is different. Owner's exciting promise to catch Seo Jung-won team



Chinese Super League club Henan FC promised a huge bonus to advance to the final of the cup tournament for the first time in 31 years.

Chinese sports media 'East Sports Daily' presented a bonus of 5 million yuan (about 1 billion won) on the 20th to encourage the team to win the 2025 China FA Cup (CFA Cup). This is the largest amount in the club's history, far beyond the Remain bonus,' the report said.

Henan's big promise, with real estate tycoon Hu Bao Sun as the owner, seems to have come after winning the FA Cup semifinal against Chengdu Rongcheng on the 19th. Henan won the penalty shootout 4-3 after a 0-0 draw at Chengdu.




Chengdu, led by South Korean soccer legend coach Seo Jung-won, was the second kicker's favorite, and failed to go to the finals after a series of misfortunes by the fifth kicker Timo. Homulo and Timo are players who played in the K-League as members of Busan and Gwangju, respectively.

'120-minute strategy' to overcome objective power inferiority was effective. Portuguese coach Daniel Ramos Hernan, who took the helm during this season, said "Hannan football has made history. He beat the strong team and confidently advanced to the final. Chengdu is a very strong team ahead of us in many statistics, but we won in the right approach."
Winning bonus of 1 billion! Chinese soccer scale is different. Owner's exciting promise to catch Seo Jung-won team
Henan scored three goals in the second half of the round of 16 against Zhejiang in June and won a 3-2 come-from-behind victory, and in July, he met Shanghai Shenhua with a 3-3 draw and miraculously reached the semifinals with an 8-7 victory in the penalty shootout.

Henan, who was led by Jeju's former coach until early this season, is in 12th place, just four points behind the relegation zone as of the 21st round of the Chinese Super League. The flow is not good enough to lose three games in the last four games, but he is showing a different appearance in the cup competition.




The Chinese portal 'Sohu Dotcom' Henan has faced serious skepticism in recent years coupled with below-expected league performance and internal personnel changes. This FA Cup is an important opportunity to relieve pressure and boost morale. Not only did he record consecutive wins and write a new history, but he also created dramatic and exciting scenes throughout the game, sparking the local atmosphere of support from home fans.

The media added that it is very unusual for more than 500 Henan fans to go on an expedition to Chengdu.

Winning bonus of 1 billion! Chinese soccer scale is different. Owner's exciting promise to catch Seo Jung-won team
Henan, who succeeded in 'Giant Killing' for three consecutive games, which is rare in the soccer world, has only one crisis left before winning the 1 billion won bonus. On December 5, they will face Beijing Guoan for the trophy at the Olympic Sports Center in Suzhou.




Beijing, led by former Barcelona head coach Quique Setien, defeated Winan Wikun 7-0 on the 20th and reached the final for the first time in seven years since 2018.

The CFA Cup winners will be eligible for the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) in the 2026-2027 season.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.