| Season | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dalian Shide (7th title) |
| Relegated | No relegation |
| AFC Champions League | Dalian Shide (postponed until 2004) |
| A3 Champions Cup | Dalian Shide |
| Matches | 210 |
| Goals | 548 (2.61 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Li Jinyu Tiago (16 goals each) |
| Average attendance | 14,984 |
← 2001 2003 → | |
The 2002 Chinese Jia-A League season was the ninth season of professional association football and the 41st top-tier overall league season in China. The league started on March 9 and ended on November 30, with Dalian Shide winning the championship. In order to help the Chinese national team prepare for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, there was no relegation within the league for this season.
Teams promoted from 2001 Jia-B League
Teams relegated to 2002 Jia-B League
Before the league started it was dogged by rumours of match fixing when it was discovered that second tier club and promotion hopeful Changchun Yatai had fixed a match on October 6, 2001 against Zhejiang in their favour. When these allegations turned out to be true, Changchun Yatai were denied promotion into the league as their punishment, which meant there would only be 15 teams performing within the league. [1] Also before the season started it was decided that because the Chinese national team had qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, there would be no relegation so the players would not be distracted with the fear of demotion. Within the season Dalian Shide would continue their dominance within Chinese football and win their third consecutive league championship. [2]
As a military-owned team, August 1st were not allowed to sign any foreign players.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dalian Shide | 28 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 48 | 27 | +21 | 57 |
| 2 | Shenzhen Ping'an Insurance | 28 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 52 |
| 3 | Beijing Guoan | 28 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 49 | 29 | +20 | 52 |
| 4 | Shandong Luneng | 28 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 45 |
| 5 | Liaoning Bird | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 42 |
| 6 | Chongqing Lifan | 28 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 41 |
| 7 | Yunnan Hongta | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 30 | 28 | +2 | 40 |
| 8 | Qingdao Hademen | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 30 | 34 | −4 | 36 |
| 9 | Shanghai Zhongyuan Huili | 28 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 37 | 39 | −2 | 35 |
| 10 | Tianjin TEDA | 28 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 34 |
| 11 | Changsha Ginde | 28 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 34 |
| 12 | Shanghai Shenhua | 28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 32 |
| 13 | August 1st | 28 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 27 | 41 | −14 | 30 |
| 14 | Sichuan Dahe | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 28 |
| 15 | Shaanxi Guoli | 28 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 24 | 53 | −29 | 13 |
