In the late afternoon of April 1, the first round of the 2021 season of the Chinese League of First Division Group Draw Ceremony was unveiled as promised. 18 valiant teams were skillfully divided into 3 competitive zones, with Zhejiang assigned to the Meizhou zone, while Chengdu Rongcheng and Wuhan Three Towns will show their home field style. According to the established plan, the new season of China League One will be officially launched on April 24th, and Wuhan will be the venue for the opening ceremony of this feast.
The new season's Central League matches will be played in three major regions - Meizhou, Dalian/Chengdu and Wuhan - and the competitive curtain will be raised on April 24, when Wuhan will play host to both the opening ceremony and the opening match. This season's Central League matches will be played in a four-stage double round-robin system with a total of 34 rounds of matches, with 10, 8, 8 and 8 rounds of matches in each stage.
In the first stage, the three host teams - Meizhou Hakka, Chengdu Rongcheng and Wuhan Sanzhen - were seeded in Groups A, B and C respectively. The remaining 15 teams are locked directly into the three groups in a serpentine fashion based on the 2020 league standings, with six teams in each division. Of particular note, Group B covers the Dalian and Chengdu divisions. Dalian is said to be hosting the first two phases of the tournament, while Chengdu is responsible for the third and fourth phases.
In the second, third and fourth phases, the phases will be rotated according to the ranking of the first phase, and each phase will be divided into 3 groups, with double round-robin tournaments within the groups (teams in the same group within the same phase will no longer compete against each other). Eight rounds of matches will be played in each stage, and after the final 34 rounds of matches are completed, the ranking of this season's Central League will be decided based on the total number of points.
The top two teams in this season's Central League will advance directly to the
China Super League (soccer league)
, while third and fourth place will be awarded with the
China Super League (soccer league)
The bottom (16th) and bottom (15th) teams play a lift-off play-off, with the winners going into the 2022 season
China Super League (soccer league)
and the losers will remain in the 2022 season of the Central League. In addition, the bottom (18th) and bottom (17th) of the Central League will play the third and fourth place of the Central League B in a promotion and relegation playoff, with the winners qualifying for the 2022 season of the Central League, and the losers dropping to the 2022 season of the Central League B.
Here are the first stage groupings for the 2021 season in the Central League:
Meizhou Region: Meizhou Hakka, Zhejiang, Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic, Sichuan Jiuniu, Zibo Cuju, Xinjiang Tianshan Snow Leopard
Dalian-Chengdu Region: Chengdu Rongcheng, Kunshan Team, Beijing North Sports University, Nantong Zhiyun, Jiangxi North Gate, Nanjing City
