As the season draws to a climax, the unveiling of the entry thresholds for the various tiers of China's soccer leagues is just around the corner. According to reliable sources, as many as 51 teams have already settled their debts, including 18 Chinese Super League giants, 15 Chinese A-League teams and 18 Chinese B-League teams.
Looking back at 2019, the two major divisions of the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League A had a total of 16 teams, while the Chinese League B accommodated 32, totaling 64 teams in the three-tier league. However, to this day, the number of teams in China's three-tier soccer league may have plummeted to 51, with many of these teams facing a number of difficulties. Whether or not these teams will be able to pass the admission audit and complete the season successfully is still up in the air.
As the cornerstone of China's professional soccer league, the China B-League was once divided into two divisions, North and South, with 18 teams competing in each. It was home to both budding young talents and veteran stars who were reluctant to retire. Surprisingly, however, while the Chinese Super League A may have been able to maintain its current size over the past four years, the number of teams in the Chinese B League has shrunk by more than half.
The new season of the Chinese Super League is about to be downsized, and the expansion plan was declared a failure. At the same time, CBA League CEO Zhang Xiong said that when the time is ripe, the CBA League will also consider expanding its size. This reflects that although the development of China's basketball league is not satisfactory, but at least maintains a benign development trend. In contrast, the outlook for soccer in China seems rather bleak, with some blaming it on the impact of the epidemic. So why has the basketball league been able to survive against the odds while the soccer league keeps regressing? Once the CBA league expands, it will inevitably collide with the entire Chinese professional soccer industry. Against the backdrop of a dwindling number of professional teams and a declining standard of professional players in China, the future of Chinese soccer may indeed be in jeopardy.
