On July 5, 2021, a key meeting was held in Shanghai, which included the heads of clubs from the Chinese Super League, Chinese League One and Chinese League Two. The centerpiece of the meeting was an in-depth discussion on the Pro League format and the route of the AFC Cup for the 2021 season.
Chairman Chen Xuyuan and Shi Qiang, head of the Preparatory Team of CFF, attended the meeting, which was chaired by Liu Jun, deputy head of the team. Heads of top clubs from the Chinese Super League, Chinese First Division and Chinese Second Division were all present.
The meeting began with an overview of the progress of the preparations for the Chinese Professional Football Clubs Federation (CPFC). The meeting then divided the participants into three groups, the Chinese Super League, the Chinese First Division and the Chinese Second Division, from which the representatives of the clubs in the preparatory group for the CFL were elected.
After the collective voting of each group, Li Ming (Beijing Guoan), Wu Xiaohui (Shanghai Shenhua), Li Jun (Hebei), Dai Jiling (Henan Songshan Longmen), Huang Shenghua (Guangzhou City), Fu Qiang (Kunshan), Yao Xia (Chengdu Rongcheng), Wu Hailer (Nanjing City), Jia Les (Guangxi Pingguo Hazhou), Wang Chao (Shaanxi Terracotta Beyond) were chosen as the representatives of the clubs of the Preparatory Group for the CFF. These representatives will participate in the important decisions of the CFF Preparatory Group and contribute to the healthy development of the professional league.
During the meeting, the format and route of the 2021 Premier League season was finalized through discussions among club representatives.
The 2021 Premier League season will be played in two phases.
Stage 1: A double round-robin point system with 14 rounds of double round-robin and a total of 112 matches according to the current AB groupings.
Stage 2: According to the points ranking of each group in the first stage, the top four teams in Group A and the top four teams in Group B will form the "Championship Group" and play two rounds of matches (no matches will be played between teams in the same group in the first stage); the 5th to 8th places in Group A and the 5th to 8th places in Group B will form the "Relegation Group", also playing two rounds (no matches will be played between teams in the same group in the first stage). The 5th to 8th places in Group A and the 5th to 8th places in Group B will form a "relegation group", which will also play two rounds (no matches between teams in the same group in the first stage). This phase consists of eight rounds and 64 matches.
At the end of all matches, the teams with the highest point totals (including the first stage points) will be awarded the top places in their respective groups. The top eight teams in the "Championship Group" will be ranked from 1st to 8th in the league, and the top eight teams in the "Relegation Group" will be ranked from 9th to 16th in the league.
Accordingly, the match schedule for the 2021 Premier League season has been updated: the first stage, rounds 6 to 14 and the 5th bye round, will be played from July 15th to August 12th. The second phase of the competition, which will take place from December 1, 2021 to January 3, 2022, has been updated.
In addition to the significant adjustments to the Super League format and routes, there have also been some adjustments to the routes in other leagues. The details are as follows:
The route of the 2021 season in the Central League is fine-tuned.
The format of the Central League remains unchanged. The second stage of the game, from the original schedule of July 2 to August 8, was changed to July 11 to August 17. The third stage of the game time, from the original schedule of August 20 to September 26, changed to September 3 to October 10th. The fourth phase of the competition, originally scheduled from October 22 to November 28, has been changed to November 17 to December 24.
The route of the 2021 season of the Central League B is fine-tuned.
The format of the CBSA tournament remains unchanged. The time of the third stage of the game, from the original schedule of August 26 to September 26, has been changed to August 29 to September 29. The fourth stage of the tournament was changed from Oct. 23 to Nov. 24 to Oct. 30 to Nov. 30, instead of Oct. 23 to Nov. 24 as originally scheduled.
In addition, during the meeting, the organizational arrangements for the 2021 CFA Cup competition were also officially announced.
I. Preliminary stage
A total of 42 teams will participate in the competition: 18 teams from the First Division and 24 teams from the Second Division. The preliminaries of the S.B. will be played in two rounds, with six teams advancing to the main round of the F.A.C. Cup:
1、July 31-August 1, 24 into 12 (8 into 4 in the elimination rounds of each region);
2、August 3-4, 12 into 6 (4 into 2 in the elimination rounds in each region).
The preliminary round of the Central League will be played from August 18 to 20, 18 into 9 (6 into 3 in the knockout rounds of each division), with a total of 9 units advancing to the main round of the FA Cup.
II. Main stage:
A total of 32 units are participating: 16 in the Super League + 9 in the Central League + 6 in the Central League + 1 in the Championship.
The first round, in which the 16 teams of the Super League play each of the other 16 teams, is expected to be a single-elimination tournament from October 16 to 19. The 1/8 finals are expected to be a single-elimination tournament from October 20 to 23; the quarter-finals are expected to be a double-elimination tournament from October 25 to 27 and from October 29 to 31; and the semifinals are expected to be a double-elimination tournament from November 4 and November 8, respectively. The final is expected to be played on November 13/14 in a single-elimination tournament.
