On February 7, 2023, the event of professional soccer in China - the meeting of professional league club leaders and the summit of the bosses of the Chinese Super League, the Chinese League A and the Chinese League B clubs - was grandly opened at the national team training base in Xianghe. The CFL announced here that from 2023, the home and away system will be fully restored to the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League A, and the U23 policy, which has been implemented for six years, will be terminated.
It is reported that in this meeting, the CFL conveyed to the clubs the opening schedule of the three major leagues for the new season: the Super League, the Chinese A League and the Chinese B League are all scheduled to kick off in mid-April, with the Chinese B League lasting until the beginning of May. The club access time has been set for February 10 to March 20, access system will also be officially closed on March 3rd.
It is worth mentioning that the meeting also made it clear that in the 2023 season, the Chinese Super League and the Chinese A League resumed the home and away game system, and the Chinese B League adopted the zonal home and away game system. In addition, although the U23 policy is canceled, but the mandatory use of U21 players is still strict: the Chinese Super League must register at least 5 U21 players, and in the club registration for more than 4 years; in the League at least 5 U21 players enrolled in the club registration for more than 4 years, and to ensure that at least 1 U21 players present; in the League B also at least 5 U21 players enrolled in the League, and to ensure that at least 1 U21 player present.
The preparatory group of the CFL also announced the revision and supplementation of the access rules of the three-level professional league for the new season. The Chinese Super League abolished the establishment of the reserve team, U19, U17, U15, U14, U13 five-level ladder adjusted to "first team", U19, U17, U15: U14, U136-level ladder; the first and second respectively set up a five-level, four-level ladder. Starting from the 2024 season, all Chinese Super League clubs must participate in the U21 League, while Chinese First Division and Chinese Second Division clubs are encouraged to participate.
It was revealed that from the 2023 season onwards, A and B clubs will be accepted to submit applications to change their registered member associations in order to fulfill the conditions of the association. The "remote transfer" of low-level music departments has become a reality again, bringing more room for the development of small and medium-sized music departments. However, this policy is currently limited to low-level music departments, the Chinese Super League teams need to meet the relevant conditions of the CFA to be approved. (Sohu Sports Pei Li)
