According to the latest communication between the CFA and the preparatory group of the working league, the remaining 9 rounds of the first stage of the 2021 season of the Chinese Super League (rounds 6 to 14) will most likely be played between July 18th and August 12th. Due to factors such as the impact of the epidemic and the national team's preparation for the Top 12, the match program for the 15th to 22nd rounds of the second stage is scheduled to take place between early December of the current year and early January of the following year. In order to create more quality match opportunities for clubs at all levels of the league, the CFA has decided to retain this season's AFC Cup matches and schedule the vast majority of the sequential matches in September, October and November, while confirming that one new season AFC Champions League main round spot will be reserved for the AFC Cup champion team. Recently, the CFA, the working league preparation team, Ford Bao Company is urgently formulating the specific system and schedule of the FA Cup, and plans to exchange relevant matters with the clubs at the working league working meeting in early July.
Last week, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and the preparatory team of the working alliance had an in-depth exchange of views on how to proceed with the remaining matches of this season's Chinese Super League (CSL). In view of FIFA's preference to maintain the same home and away match system for the 12-team tournament, and in the context of the epidemic, the entry and exit conditions of the participants are restricted and all kinds of international and domestic regulations on epidemic prevention need to be strictly enforced, the parties initially determined that the remaining nine rounds of matches of the first phase of the Chinese Super League (including the fifth round of the two bye matches) will be arranged to be held in the middle of July to mid-August in order to tie in with the launch of the national team's 12-team pre-tournament training on or around August 17th. The first phase of the Chinese Super League is scheduled for mid-July to mid-August to coincide with the start of the national team's pre-tournament training for the Top 12 around August 17.
The schedule shows that the first six rounds of the 12-team tournament are scheduled to be played during the three international matchday cycles in September, October and November. Therefore, the CFA and the league's preparatory group initially determined that no Chinese Super League matches will be organized during these three months. As the 6th round of the 12 round of matches of the national team at home against the same group of the 2nd gear team until November 16th, so taking into account a variety of factors, the remaining 8 rounds of the Super League matches will be the earliest in early December to be able to carry out.
The proposal for the Chinese Super League to "give way" to the national team's preparations and matches for the Top 12 tournament has aroused a great deal of reaction in all walks of life. Some people even questioned that similar arrangements would be very damaging to the Chinese Super League, and therefore suggested that the Chinese Super League should be played normally in the absence of national players from September to November to ensure that all 30 rounds of matches are played throughout the season.
However, it is understood that the CFA and the work of the Union preparatory group in the development of various types of Chinese Super League in the process of running the plan, also heard from the club side of the different voices, on the "national footballer can be absent part of the stage of the league", different clubs of different interests, in this case, the parties can only seek common ground while reserving differences.
Then from September to November, the Chinese Super League clubs at all levels "only practice not game"? The answer is no. Beiqing - Beijing headline reporter learned on the 28th, previously rumored to be canceled this season's FA Cup will be retained. Among them, the key stage of the tournament with the participation of the Chinese Super League team will be in September, October, November, no surprise.
Last year, due to the impact of the epidemic, the 2020 season of the Chinese Super League did not start until July 25th. The FA Cup was also at risk of being temporarily suspended, but after active coordination, all parties overcame all kinds of difficulties and ensured that last season's FA Cup was conducted smoothly by reducing the size of the competition and compressing the schedule of contingency measures until Taishan finally won the championship.
launch in full
Last season, subject to force majeure factors, only the Chinese Super League and Chinese A (top 8) teams participated in the main round of the FFA Cup in each order. According to the competition program planned by the CFA and Ford Bao earlier, the domestic amateur teams with the best results in the previous season, such as China B, China A, China Super League and one team, will be qualified to participate in this season's FFA Cup. The first round of the competition, which was originally planned for June, will involve the Central League One teams, with nine advancing teams through a single-round knockout tournament; the 24 Central League B teams will play in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the knockout system, resulting in six advancing teams, plus that amateur team, for a total of 16 teams among the round of 32. In the 4th round, that is, the 1/16th final, they will play against each of the 16 Chinese Super League teams, and then step by step in the knockout rounds until the winner is crowned. The quarter-final and semi-final scenarios are based on a double-round robin system, while the other rounds, including the final, are based on a single-game tie-breaker system.
However, by the national team to the United Arab Emirates to participate in the 40 strong match after the need to accept the necessary isolation in the domestic observation and other factors, originally planned to restart the Super League on June 21 had to be postponed for nearly 1 month to start, the AFC Cup competition schedule has also been affected by a small impact. Considering that the remaining 9 rounds of the first phase of the Super League will be played at a high density of 1 round every 2 days, it will be impossible for the Super League teams to participate in the AFC Cup before the start of the 12-team tournament. The first round of the tournament will not open until around the end of July at the earliest. For the Chinese Super League teams, the best time to participate in the AFC Cup is undoubtedly from September to November.
Having said that, it is necessary to mention the original intention of the CFA's desperate efforts to retain the FA Cup tournament. Affected by the national team to participate in the 12 strong tournament, the absence of international players, the Chinese Super League if the September to November, then it is bound to cause the league competition unfairly, which is quite a part of the pursuit of the league competition of the club can not afford. Then in such a long league break, the Super League teams just rely on hard training, obviously can not optimize the quality of preparation. In this case, focusing on existing strengths to participate in the AFC Cup will undoubtedly help teams to maintain their form and help clubs to explore potential youngsters and newcomers. From the past seasons of the AFC Cup process, unless the direction of the Super League teams competing for the Cup Championship is clear, the vast majority of them will organize a considerable proportion of replacements or reserves to cope with the AFC Cup before the final 8 or even the final 4 matches. Therefore, once the F.A.C.A. Cup can be played during this period, it will be a valuable exercise for the Super League clubs.
It is reported that in order to encourage clubs at all levels to actively participate in the AFC Cup, the CFA will clearly leave one AFC Champions League place in the new season for this season's AFC Cup winning team. Because the final of this season's AFC Cup is also likely to be arranged in November, that is, the 12 strong competition cycle, meaning that the international players may also be absent. This may also create an opportunity for the so-called "civilian teams" to compete as dark horses.
There is another point that can not be ignored by the CFA and all parties, that is, the interests of the sponsors. According to the end of 2017, the CFA Ford Bao company and Yanjing Brewery contract renewal agreement, the latter will continue to title sponsorship of the 2018 to 2021 season of the F.A.C. Cup, this season is the stage of the two sides of the last year of the cooperation cycle, "respect for the contract, there is a beginning and an end," the reasoning need not be repeated.
It is understood that the CFA, the work of the league preparatory group and the clubs will be held around July 5 in Shanghai or Suzhou, the league work conference, then about this season's Super League, the FA Cup competition organization will be formally launched.
