Chinese Super League

Overview

Unlike in many top European leagues, the Chinese Super League starts in February or March and ends in November or December. In each season, each club plays each of the other clubs twice, once at home and another away. The current system, with 16 clubs in the Super League, so the teams played 30 games each for a total of 240 games in the season.

The two lowest placed teams by the end of the season are relegated to the China League One and the top two teams from the League One are promoted, taking their places.

The top three of the league, as well as the winner of the Chinese FA Cup, qualify for the AFC Champions League of the next year. If the FA Cup finalists finish the league 3rd or higher, 4th place in the league will take the Champions League spot.

Origins

In 1994, As part of the sports system reform，the Chinese Jia-A League became the country's first professional football league. The Jia-A league achieved huge success in its early years, but heavy criticism also existed towards the managenment practices of the League and some of the member clubs,at the same time, the league was affected with gambling, match-fixing and corruption. the Chinese Football Association then decided to reform the League system, that leads to the creation of the Chinese Super League.

On October 29, 2000, Yan Shiduo, vice-president of the Chinese Football Association, talked about setting up a new professional league system. In 2002, the CFA made a decision to establish the Chinese Super League, which started in 2004.

Foundation

Compared to the Jia-A, the CSL is a lot more demanding on teams. The CFA and CSL committee imposed a range of minimum criteria to ensure professional management and administration, financial probity, and a youth development program at every club. The second division, China League One, was also re-established under a new system. Besides the regular professional league, the CSL also has a reserve league, U-19 league, U-17 league and an U-15 league.

The CSL and China League One's goals are to promote high quality and high-level competition; introduce advanced managerial concepts to the market; enforce the delivery of minimum standards of professionalism; encourage the influx of more higher quality foreign coaches and players; and gradually establish the European system for player registrations and transfers.

Summary

The first CSL season began in 2004, with 12 teams in the league. The inaugural season was plagued with controversy, which continued from the former league, Jia-A. After 1998, scandals such as match fixing and gambling were uncovered. This resulted in loss of interest in the domestic game, low attendances and great financial losses.

The original plan was to have one relegated team and two promoted teams for the 2004 season and 2005 season, thus increasing the number of teams in 2006 to 14. But the CFA's decisions caused the relegations to be cancelled for these 2 years.

For the 2005 season, the league expanded to 14 teams after Wuhan Huanghelou and Zhuhai Zhongbang won promotion from China League One. The Zhuhai team, formerly Zhuhai Anping, had been bought by the Shanghai Zhongbang real estate company and relocated to Shanghai for the 2005 season, and subsequently renamed to Shanghai Zobon.

In 2006, the league was planned to expand to 16 teams with the newly promoted Xiamen Lanshi and Changchun Yatai. However, Sichuan Guancheng withdrew before the start of the season, leaving only 15 teams when the season started on March 11. Shanghai Liancheng Zobon, after another change of ownership, was renamed Shanghai United.

In 2007, the league was again planned to be expanded to 16 teams, but once again it found itself one team short. Shanghai United's owner, Zhu Jun, bought a major share in local rival Shanghai Shenhua and merged the two teams. As a result, Shanghai Shenhua retained its name as it already had a strong fanbase in the city, while Shanghai United pulled out of the league.

In 2008, the season started with 16 clubs participating for the first time, however Wuhan protested against punishments made by the CFA after a match against Beijing Guo'an, and announced its immediate withdrawal from the league, which left the season to finish with 15 clubs.

Since 2009, the league has run with 16 stable clubs participating in each year. Two are relegated to China League One, and two promoted from China League One each season.

In 2010, the CSL was beset by a scandal going right to the top of the CFA. The Chinese government took nationwide action against football gambling, match-fixing and corruption, and former CFA vice presidents Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin were arrested.

In 2011, the anti-corruption movement had visibly improved the image of the CSL, with increases to attendance. Clubs such as Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai Shenhua began investing heavily in foreign stars. After former Fluminense midfielder Darío Conca transferred in 2011, Some noticeable signings during the 2012 seasons include former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, former Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita and Fábio Rochemback, former Sevilla forward Frédéric Kanouté, former Blackburn Rovers forward Yakubu Aiyegbeni and former Borussia Dortmund forward Lucas Barrios. Former Japanese national team coach Takeshi Okada took up the reins as the new coach of Hangzhou Greentown, former Argentina national team coach Sergio Batista replaced Jean Tigana as Shanghai Shenhua's head coach, and former Italy national team and Juventus manager Marcello Lippi replaced Lee Jang-Soo as Guangzhou Evergrande's head coach.

In 2012, Guangzhou Evergrande have become the first Chinese team to defend their CSL title and won it consecutively in a row. however, Eight time champions of Professional League, Dalian Shide, follows seriously financial problems all season, especially after the arrest of club owner Xu Ming. planned to merge with Dalian Aerbin, the other CSL club of the city, Lately, The Chinese Football Association blocked the merger, As Dalian Shide failed to cancel their registration as CSL club before the merger. so Aerbin effectively purchased and swallowed up Shide, include clubs famed academy and training facilities. Dalian Shide was officially dissolved on 31 January 2013. The country's most successful club had ceased to exist.

Establishment of Cooperation Structure

The preparatory committee of the Chinese Professional Football League was established On May 27, 2016, with members from 5 CSL clubs, 3 CL1 clubs and 2 CL2 clubs, includes two CFA representatives, the blueprint is to have all of the three professional level leagues of China, the Chinese Super League, China Football League one and China Football League two separated from the League structure of the CFA, The PFL will be a private company wholly owned by its Member Clubs who make up the League at any one time, Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The newly formed PFL would have commercial independence from The CFA, giving the PFL licence to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements.

The CFA will no longer holds any shares of the League, but as national governing body for football in China the CFA is responsible for sanctioning competition Rule Books,and regulating on-field matters. It also organises The CFA Cup competition, in which PFL Member Clubs compete.and the lower division leagues ranked after CL2, under specific agreement between CFA and PFL, The CFA will also has the ability to exercise a vote on certain specific issues, but has no role in the day-to-day running of the CSL, CL1 and CL2.

on January 3, 2017, the CFA announced that Chinese Professional Football League, formed as a limited company, will be established in March 2017, the CSL and CL1 clubs will be found members of the PFL starts from 2017, with CL2 planning to join the system by 2019. The PFL preparatory committee will discuss and establish the regulations and the structures of the PFL, holding the elections of the PFL president in January and February 2017.

International players policy

Professional footballers in China receive relatively high salaries when compared to other Chinese sports leagues and football leagues in other countries. As a result, numerous players from Serbia, Brazil, Honduras, and other Latin American regions are signed as the foreign players in the Chinese league. The league has rules, however, restricting the number of foreign players strictly to five per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use a maximum of four foreign players on the field each game. This is to promote native player improvement and to conform to rules regarding international club competitions in the AFC. During the middle of the 2012 season, it was decided that teams that were competing in the AFC Champions League were allowed to have two extra foreign players, which can bring the number of foreigners on a team's seven; however, the policy was removed in the 2013 season.

Hong Kong, Macau and Chinese Taipei players

Hong Kong players were considered foreigners at the beginning of 2009 but the league held back the change until the summer transfer window. After the 2010 season, players from Macau and Chinese Taipei (except goalkeepers) were not considered foreigners in CSL matches, but will be regarded as foreigners in AFC competitions. After 2015 season, players who hadn't played for Hong Kong national football team, Macau national football team or Chinese Taipei national football team were no longer deemed as native players. After the 2016 season, players from Hong Kong, Macau and Chinese Taipei, whose contract was signed after 1 January 2016, were no longer deemed as native players.

All-time CSL table

The All-time CSL table is an overall record of all match results, points, and goals of every team that has played in CSL since its inception in 2004. The table is accurate as of the end of the 2016 season.

Attendance by clubs

This table lists average attendances of clubs yearly, but only for seasons when that club played in the top division. Clubs are listed with their current names.

Awards

The official Chinese Super league annual awards are given to players, managers and referees based on their performance during the season.

Most valuable player

It is also named the "Mr. Football Golden Ball award".

Golden Boot award

This award is awarded to the top goalscorer of the league that year.

There is also an award that is awarded to the top Chinese goalscorer of that season, which was first introduced in 2011.

Media coverage

As of March 2017, main broadcasters of the CSL through the world are listed in following table

Reserve league and Elite league

The reserve league is open to all of the reserve teams from the Chinese Super League, China League One, and China League Two clubs.

Youth league

Like the reserve league, the youth league is open to all the youth teams of all professional clubs in China.