In-depth analysis: Changes to the 2021 season's Central League fixture system
The new season of the Central League will break with tradition and adopt a new conference system, divided into four phases, completing a total of 34 rounds of fierce battles (including 10 rounds, 8 rounds, 8 rounds and 8 rounds of round-robin).
First Stage: Chengdu Rongcheng, Meizhou Hakka and Wuhan Sanzhen were established as hosts, with the three seeded teams determining Groups A, B and C through a draw. The remaining 15 teams will be placed directly into their respective groups in a serpentine fashion based on the 2020 season rankings. Six teams from each group will play 10 rounds of double round-robin matches in their respective divisions, totaling 90 matches.
Stages 2-4: Based on the first stage's brackets, teams will be rotated. Each stage is divided into three groups, with teams within the groups playing a double round-robin (teams from the same group in the first stage will not play each other again). In Phases II-IV, 8 rounds of matches will be played in each phase, totaling 72 matches.
The promotion quota for this season's Chinese Super League is quite innovative, with a total of 2+0.5+0.5 places. The top two teams will be promoted directly, while the third and fourth teams will play a play-off against the bottom two teams in the Chinese Super League, thus completing the expansion of the Chinese Super League for the 2022 season.
