In the late afternoon of April 1, the first stage of the group draw for the 2021 China B League was officially announced. Twenty-four strong teams from all over China were assigned to compete in three different divisions. Among them, the much-anticipated China U20 National Youth Football Team has been assigned to Group B, and they are about to start a fierce competition in Yancheng. In the same group with the national youth team, there is also a strong Qingdao Sea Bulls team.
The new season of China B League will be staged passionately in Duyun, Yancheng and Luxi three regions, the game on May 15 officially started. According to the arrangement of the tournament system, the 24 participating teams in the first stage were evenly distributed into three groups of eight teams each to play a double round-robin tournament. The top two teams of each group and the third place of the two groups with the best results, totaling 8 teams, will advance to the next stage, while the remaining 16 teams constitute a highly competitive relegation group, also divided into two groups of 8 teams each, for a double round-robin competition.
The top two finishers in the promotion group will be promoted directly to the Central League, while the third and fourth finishers will play a lift playoff against the 18th and 17th place finishers in the Central League, with the winners earning a place in the Central League, while the losers will continue to fight it out in the Central League Two. As for the relegation groups, the last place in each group (i.e. eighth place in the group) will be relegated to the Chinese Champions League, while the second last place (i.e. seventh place in the group) will play a play-off against the fifth and sixth places in the Chinese Champions League, with the winners staying in the Chinese B League and the losers going to the Chinese Champions League, while the top four places in the Chinese Champions League will be promoted directly to the Chinese B League.
According to the established plan, the participating teams of the 2022 season of the C.B. League will remain the same as the 2021 season, which is still 24 teams.
Below are the details of the first stage groupings for the 2021 season of the C.B. League:
Duyun Race: Hubei Youth Star, Shaoxing Keqiao Yuejia, Xi'an Junwolf, Guangxi Pingguo Ha Loud and Clear, Inner Mongolia Grass on the Fly, Shanxi Longjin, Hebei Kungfu, Dandong Tengyue
Yancheng Match: Qingdao Hainiu, Kunming Zhenghe Shipwright, Shaanxi Terracotta Shipwright, Hebei Zhuoao, Dongguan Guanlian, Yichun Weihu, Wuxi Wuhou, China U20
