Sports Weekly's Madsen reporter revealed that the preliminary schedule for the 2024 season drawn up by the Football Association's Competition Department shows that the new season of the Chinese Super League will kick off on March 1 and end in November, with the season being subdivided into six stages.
On February 24, the annual Super Cup will kick off the new season. The first round of the Super Cup is scheduled for March 1-3, while the second round is scheduled for March 8-10th. The national team will then prepare for the first window of matches designated by FIFA from March 18 to 26, when it will focus on the 36-team World Cup qualifier in Singapore.
The Premier League will restart with the third round on March 29-31 after the home match against Singapore on March 26th. Thereafter, the league will remain in continuous play until the 14th round is completed this weekend, May 24-26th. Notably, the league will be suspended during the AFC Champions League semifinals on April 17 and April 24th.
From April 15 to May 3, Qatar will host the finals of the sixth U23 Asian Cup and the finals of the men's Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite this, the FA has not considered adjusting the league schedule. In addition, seven rounds are scheduled before and after the league, an arrangement that could trigger opposition from clubs and cause problems in the selection of players for the Olympic team.
After the league concludes on May 26, the national team will begin preparations for the June 3-11 window of matches, focusing on the World Cup Qualifying Round of 36 matches at home against Thailand on June 6 and against South Korea on June 11th. The away match against South Korea is scheduled for June 14-16, and the Super League will play its 15th round of matches until July 13, when the 19th round of matches will be completed.
From July 18 to 24, the national team will conduct flight training. on July 26, the Super League resumes its 20th round of matches, which will be played every Monday until August 25, when the 24th round will be completed. From Aug. 26, the national team will focus on preparing for the Sept. 2-10 match window, the 18-team group stage. It is not yet clear whether the Chinese team will be able to advance to the Round of 18, but the Competition Department has made arrangements accordingly.
After the September window for national team matches, the Premier League will play three rounds of matches until the 27th round of matches on Sept. 29. The league will be suspended again from Oct. 7 to 15 for the Top 18 group stage window. The league will then schedule the 28th, 29th and 30th rounds of matches from Oct. 18 to 20, Oct. 27 and Nov. 2 before concluding all Super League matches.
Starting November 3, the national team will focus on preparing for the fifth and sixth rounds of the group stage, which runs from November 11th to 19th. After the final 18 matches, the FA Cup Final will be held on November 23rd. Clubs participating in the Asian Elite League will then continue their preparations for the fifth and sixth rounds.
Looking at the entire season schedule, the league was divided into six phases due to the need for the national team to participate in the World Cup qualifiers. The schedule in the first half of the year was more intensive, but the frequency of weekly doubles only appeared in the first half of the year from April to May, totaling three times. The overall schedule of matches was relatively reasonable. The new season will begin on March 1, a month and a half earlier than this year's April 15 start.
It is planned that the Super League will start a week after the opening match. Due to the suspension of the league, the final round of matches will end on Nov. 3, the day after the Super League. The Central League A will maintain its size of 16 teams and the Central League B will open at the end of March and run until the end of October. The FA Cup is scheduled to begin in mid-March next year, with seven rounds of matches, all single-elimination, interspersed during the league season.
