Sports Weekly reporter Ma Dexing revealed that the new season of the Chinese Super League is expected to kick off in early March next year, drawing to a close in early November, the tournament is divided into six phases, during which five phases need to be suspended due to national team events.
Ma Dexing further elaborated that the draft soccer calendar for the 2024 season prepared by the Competition Department of the CFA is reported to take shape in September this year. The calendar is based on the window of national team matches released by FIFA and the schedules of various tournaments released by the AFC. Under this framework, the Competition Department schedules domestic matches and takes into account the matches of national teams at all levels such as the national team, the Olympic team, the national youth team and the national junior team.
Although 2024 is not as tournament-intensive as 2023, there will still be a number of major tournaments, such as the cross-over AFC Asian Cup, the newly established Asian Elite League, the Asian Cup final, the U23 Asian Cup, the men's Olympic qualifying final in Paris, and the 2026 World Qualifying Tournament's second stage of 36 and third stage of 18, among others.
After careful consideration, the tournament department has sent the national team coaches a schedule of games and consulted with the coaching staff. In adjusting and supplementing the schedule, the focus is on meeting the needs of the coaching staff for preparation.
As it stands, the first round of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League knockout round is scheduled for Feb. 13-21, and Shandong Taishan will have a tight schedule if they advance. Taishan will play in the Super Cup on February 24 if they win the FA Cup, and could then face two matches in four days.
The first round of the 2024 Super League is expected to be played from March 1-3, followed by the second round from March 8-10th. The national team is focusing on preparations for the FIFA Designated Competition Window from March 18 to 26 after the league.
Considering the preparation of the national team, the competition department left about 10 days after the league on March 10 for the national football team to organize training. Coach Jankovic expressed his preference for the league schedule, hoping to use the two rounds of the league to adjust the players' status.
After the home game against Singapore on March 26, the Super League resumes its third round from March 29 to 31, followed by non-stop action. The 14th round of matches is expected to end on May 24-26, during which four one-week doubleheaders will be scheduled. No league matches will be scheduled for the AFC Champions League semifinal day, and if Taishan advance to the semifinals, they will face an intensive schedule in April.
The final of the sixth U23 Asian Cup and the final of the men's qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held in Qatar from April 15 to May 3, during which seven rounds of league matches will be scheduled, potentially causing dissent among clubs.
The national team's preparations for the June 3-11 competition window began on May 27, focusing on key preliminary round matches against Thailand and South Korea. The 15th to 19th rounds of CSL matches will be played from June 14 to July 13, followed by a scheduled flight training session.
The Super League resumes its 20th round of matches on July 26 and the 24th round begins on Aug. 25 before the men's national team focuses on preparations for the Sept. 2-10 Round of 18 group stage.
The league will be suspended after the 27th round of the Super League on Sept. 29, with the 28th to 30th rounds taking place from Oct. 18 to Nov. 2, and the league then ending. The national team will prepare for the fifth and sixth rounds of the 18-team group stage from November 3rd to 19th.
The 18-team tournament will be followed by the FA Cup Final on November 23, after which all fixtures will be completed. Preparations for the fifth and sixth rounds of the Asian Elite League continue with the participating clubs.
The full season schedule takes into account national team fixtures and is divided into six phases, five of which are suspended due to national team fixtures. The first half of the schedule was more intensive, but one-week doubleheaders were scheduled only three times from April to May. The start of the new season is expected to be reduced.
China's first division will begin a week after the opening of the Chinese Super League, and China's second division opens in late March and ends in late October. The AFC Cup is scheduled to begin in mid-March next year with seven rounds of single-elimination matches.
The schedule of events for the 2024 season is being refined and the FA will officially release the final schedule.
