Chinese football league system

Chinese football league system
Country	China
Sport	Association football
Promotion and relegation	Yes
National system
Federation	Chinese Football Association
Confederation	AFC
Top division	Men Super League ; ; Women Women's Super League ; ; ;
Second division	Men League One ; ; Women Women's League ; ; ;
Cup competition	Men CFA Cup ; CFA Supercup ; ; Women CFA Women's Cup ; Chinese Women's Football Championship ; ; ;
	Association football in China

Last updated December 28, 2023

The Chinese football league system or Chinese football league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for the Chinese Football Association (CFA) that currently consists of 8 tiers with 29 individual leagues, in a series of partially interconnected leagues that are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation.^[1]

Men's system

The top 3 tiers are nationwide professional competitions, Super League, China League, Division Two League, have promotion and relegation between the leagues.^[3]

The hierarchical system continues and levels have progressively more parallel divisions, which each cover progressively smaller geographic areas.^[4] 50 CFA Member Associations organise different forms of competitions and 22 of them organise regular leagues, which locate from tier 4 of the system. Only Zhejiang Super League has feeder leagues.

CFA Member Association Champions League, is the amateur football finals each season, involving 64 teams from across the country. All teams registered with CFA member associations are required to gain access to the CFA Member Association Champions League in various ways, including participating and winning in leagues organised by the member association (tier 4 leagues). This is the only way to enter top 3 tiers and be a part of the professional system.

Tier	Leagues / Divisions
Professional / National
1	CFA Super League (CSL) 16 clubs ↓ 2 relegation spots
2	CFA China League 16 clubs ↑ 2 promotion spots ↓ 2 relegation spots
3	CFA Division Two League 20 clubs ↑ 2 promotion spots ↓ 2 relegation spots
Amateur / Regional
4-7	CFA member associations leagues 501 clubs ↑ 4 promotion spots(through CMCL) Changchun Amateur (18 clubs) Chengdu City Super (10 clubs) Chongqing Amateur Super (12 clubs) \| One (6 clubs) Fujian Super (4 clubs) \| One (TBD clubs) Guangdong Super (16 clubs) Guangxi Clubs Championship (4 clubs) Guangzhou (8 clubs) Hainan Super (8 clubs) \| One (16 clubs) Hunan Super (7 clubs) Jiangsu Champions (8 clubs) Jiangxi Super (6 clubs) Liaoning Cities Super (16 clubs) Nanjing Super (8 clubs) Qingdao City Super (8 clubs) \| One (12 clubs) \| Two (22 clubs) Shanghai Super A (7 clubs) \| Super B (6 clubs) \| One A (7 clubs) \| One B (6 clubs) Shenzhen City Super (8 clubs) \| One (6 clubs) \| Two (12 clubs) Tianjin Super (13 clubs) \| One (11 clubs) \| Two (126 clubs) Wuhan City Super (8 clubs) Xiamen Super (8 clubs) \| A (10 clubs) \| B (12 clubs) \| Grassroots (8 clubs) Xinjiang Championship (8 clubs) Zhejiang Super A (8 clubs) \| Super B (8 clubs) China University Super (16 clubs) \| One (24 clubs) w/ other cup competitions
6-8	City-level associations leagues 69 clubs
6-8	Affiliated associations of Zhejiang FA 69 clubs ↑ 0-1 promotion spot to Zhejiang Super B (through play-off) Hangzhou West Lake Super (8 clubs) \| Championship A (24 clubs) \| Championship B (TBD clubs) Huzhou Super (5 clubs) Ningbo Super (14 clubs) Wenzhou Amateur Super (8 clubs) \| A (10 clubs) w/ other cup competitions

Structure

Tier 1-3: Professional leagues

The highest level of football in China is the Super League which was founded in 2004. The China League and Division Two League are currently the second and third division.

Tier 4-7: CFA member associations leagues

The CFA has 50 member associations,^[5] 31 are the province-level, 13 are city-level and the rest are Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps FA, Federation of University Sports of China, Chinese Enterprise Sports Association, China Locomotive Sports Association and China Coal Mine Sports Association. 22 associations organise regular leagues with internal promotion and relegation, with the most tiers being the Xiamen FA and Shanghai FA, which have four tiers. Regardless of the type of competition organised by member associations, they all have a variable number of CFA Member Association Champions League positions.

4 top clubs of CMCL receive promotion to the Division Two League.

Tier 6-8: City-level associations leagues

Only the Zhejiang Football Association has implemented a feed league system, although the rule is strict. When there is a team withdraw in the Division B (tier 5), teams in city-level leagues (tier 6) will get the opportunity to be promoted.^[6]

Women's system

The three levels of women's football are structured as follows:

Level	Leagues
1	CFA Women's Super League (CWCL) 12 clubs ↓ 1 relegation playoff spot
2	CFA Women's League 12 clubs ↑ 2 promotion spots + 1 promotion playoff spot
3	CFA Women's Division 2 League 24 clubs ↑ 2 promotion spots

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References

↑ "Country Info". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
↑ "国务院办公厅关于印发中国足球改革发展总体方案的通知_2015年第9号国务院公报_中国政府网". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
↑ "Chinese Super League". Football Top. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
↑ "Chinese tycoon Ai Yakang buys actress daughter Ai Ru a football team". The Australian . Retrieved 8 May 2014.
↑ "中国足球协会官方网站". www.thecfa.cn. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
↑ "浙超联赛 | 2021浙超联赛资格赛落幕，海曙好美首发获得浙超联赛B组参赛资格". Weixin Official Accounts Platform. Retrieved 2021-06-01.

External links

Chinese Football Association (in Chinese)
China League History

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[1] "Country Info". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

[2] "国务院办公厅关于印发中国足球改革发展总体方案的通知_2015年第9号国务院公报_中国政府网". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 2021-06-01.

[footballtop2-3] "Chinese Super League". Football Top. Retrieved 8 May 2014.

[4] "Chinese tycoon Ai Yakang buys actress daughter Ai Ru a football team". The Australian . Retrieved 8 May 2014.

[5] "中国足球协会官方网站". www.thecfa.cn. Retrieved 2022-05-27.

[6] "浙超联赛 | 2021浙超联赛资格赛落幕，海曙好美首发获得浙超联赛B组参赛资格". Weixin Official Accounts Platform. Retrieved 2021-06-01.

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