Guo'an players train at the Workers Stadium on March 4. [Photo/China Daily]

Beijing Guo'an Football Club has scrapped plans to hold a lucky draw for fans unable to get season tickets due to a severe slump in sales.

The club made the announcement on Tuesday after the number of applications for its season-long package failed to reach 19,600 before the March 7 deadline.

Many supporters are believed to have become disillusioned with the team following poor displays during the 2009-2010 Super League campaign, as well as the loss of big-name players during close-season.

"The booking system has closed, and fans can get the tickets as early as the end of March," said an operator who declined to give her name at 228.com.cn, the website that handles online ticket sales for Guo'an. She would only reveal that the final sales figure was "slightly" more than 15,000.

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Last year, around 40,000 fans vied online for season tickets priced at 260 yuan, with only 50 percent successful. The club devised a lucky draw to deal with the situation this year, but the expected rush failed to materialize.

Although prices were raised to 350 yuan, money is not the main reason for the cool response, Wang Wen, director of the Beijing Football Fans' Association, told METRO. "It probably has more to do with the team's performances," he said. "After winning the championship in 2008-2009, the results last year (Guo'an finished fifth in the league) was not satisfactory."

Wang said fans also complained about the club's reluctance to invest in foreign and domestic talent, while at the same time allowing star players like China international midfielder Yang Hao to sign contracts with rival clubs.

Kang Ning, a diehard fan from Fengtai district, said compared to other clubs, Guo'an - the mainland's first professional outfit founded in 1992 - needs to think more of its fans. It only costs 100 yuan this year to buy a season ticket for Beijing Baxy, a team in the lower leagues, he said.

The club is renovating the Worker's Stadium to improve its facilities and have plans for a new ticket booking system, according to general manager Gao Chao.

Although more supporters are shifting their interests to top clubs in Europe, Wang said support for local teams is still steady. His association has roughly 1,500 members who regularly show up at the stadium to lead the cheers during Guo'an matches.

"Most of our members are young people," he said, about 80 percent. "There's still new blood joining in every year."

Fans who talked to METRO said expectations are low for the new season, which kicks off in early April, but insisted they will get behind the players.

"After all, it's our team," said Yang Jie, 25, who has supported Guo'an since 1997.