Long road back for home-and-away system
Currently, the CFF is facing a difficult challenge - how to resume the home-and-away system against the backdrop of a complex and volatile epidemic. According to the preliminary arrangement of the CFF, the league will temporarily be based on the match system this season. In the face of fans' and media's concern over the resumption of the home-and-away system, Guo Bingyan, the person in charge of competition preparations, revealed, "In the first phase, we will adhere to the match system and closely monitor the development of the epidemic, and strive to realize the full return of the home-and-away system in the subsequent phases." However, Guo Bingyan was also blunt: "It will be frankly difficult to realize the home and away race system this year."
In doing so, this will be the third year that the league will be contested in a home-and-away format. The Premier League is divided into four phases, each with 10+8+8+8 matches, culminating in a 34-round double-round robin tournament.
China Super League (soccer league)
The grouping principle of the league is also quite distinctive: Meizhou Hakka of the Meizhou Region, as the host, is placed in Group A1; while Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Seaport, the league's champion and runner-up, occupy the top positions in the Haikou and Dalian Regions, respectively.
Guo Bingyan further explained the grouping principle: "The top two teams in each group will be seeded, namely Meizhou Hakka in the Meizhou Division and the top five teams in the 2021 league season. The first three stages of the tournament will remain unchanged and there will be no rotation. Dalian People's Club, as a professional club replacement, directly replaces Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic, occupying the fifth spot in the Haikou Division. The zones will be rotated as the tournament progresses in all stages."
