Guo'an Take on Australia's Newcastle Jets Tomorrow Night at Gongti

It could be a triumphant return to form for the local Beijing team as they come home to Workers' Stadium for the 2009 season which kicks off on Mar 21 (click here for fixtures). Guo’an have received a RMB 20 million investment from the Beijing Sports Bureau which has helped them replace some of the big name internationals that they lost at the end of the 2008 season. Along with other clubs in the CSL, they've also received a big cash injection from Nike (see earlier post for details).

Beijing were runners up in the 2007 season and a strong finish to last season, despite being marred by on and off field distractions, saw them finish third on the ladder. By doing so they qualified for this year's expanded AFC Champions League. Tomorrow night the team host Australia’s Newcastle Jets in the first group match of the AFC at the Workers' Stadium.

Tickets to the game, which marks the team's first appearance at Gongti after being forced to move out to Fengtai to allow the grand old Workers' Stadium to undergo some pre-Olympic sprucing, seem to only be at the gate or available from piaocool.com. None of the major ticketing agencies are offering tickets to the game on their site. You can purchase RMB 30, 50 or 100 kuai tickets (click here for seating map) from the piaocool.com office located on Xinzhong Jie just to the north west of the Workers' Stadium - see exact address below. They will not deliver tickets

Mar 10
Beijing Guo'an vs Newcastle Jets
The season starts with the first step toward becoming champions of the AFC. 8pm. Workers' Stadium

Piaocool.com Ticketing Office
Rm 205, Bldg 4, Yangguang Dushi (Yanguangdu City), 18 Xinzhong Jie, Dongcheng District (5128 8888) click here for map.
北京新纪元集骏文化传播有限公司, 东城区新中街18号阳光都市4号楼205室

Guo'an also recently issued a season ticket for RMB 260. It included 15 CSL and 3 AFC Champion’s League home games. If you missed out on that, a single match ticket can also be purchased 3 days before the game at RMB 30-100.