In this season of the Chinese Super League, the problems are remarkable. 2023 season net time hit a record low in the last five seasons, only 50 minutes and 51 seconds, exposing the quality of the league's hidden worries. The decline in the average number of goals scored by foreigners is a visual reflection of the decline in the level of foreigners in the Chinese Super League, which is undoubtedly the most direct problem. But these are just our league's self-examination. If we compare it with other top leagues in the world, the problems of the Chinese Super League are even more prominent and its health is in a worrying state. Our league and music departments lead the pack in a series of poor statistics.
Recently, the Swiss Football Observatory, a global leader in soccer research, released a number of lists, including the stability of clubs in the world's top 48 leagues, and the average age rankings of leagues and clubs. Stability refers to the average number of seasons a player has played, and Shanghai Port and Shandong Taishan ranked first and second on the list, with average playing seasons of 5.39 and 5.03 seasons respectively. Real Madrid, Bayern, Liverpool and other world-class giants are also listed. Stability is not a bad thing, but it is a side effect of the loss of domestic players. However, the real problem is not stability, but the average age list.
The Chinese Super League topped the global league average age list with an average age of 28.41 years. Saudi Arabia follows in second place with an average age of 27.91 years, while the third place is 27.90 years. Of the five major leagues, only La Liga is among the top ten, while the remaining four major leagues are ranked in the twentieth. The Chinese Super League has become the oldest league in the world, which is a big challenge for the league itself and even the whole soccer environment. Without the injection of young blood, the league's level will only decline as the veterans age.
More serious is that the national football players only one study abroad players, the main force of the national football team is still the Chinese super players, which undoubtedly reveals the aging problem of the national football team. The overall age of the Chinese Super League is on the older side, and the "contribution" of individual clubs cannot be ignored. In the average age list of clubs, the Chinese Super League clubs once again led the way, with Qingdao Hainiu topping the list with an average age of 31.48 years old, becoming the only team in the world's top 48 leagues with an average age of more than 30 years old. Chengdu Rongcheng are 10th at 29.80, while another Asian side, Ulsan Hyundai, are sixth at 29.60. Other teams come from fringe European leagues and South American leagues.
I had not expected our league and clubs to be in the spotlight in the way they are. The leadership of the Premier League and clubs is nothing to be proud of, either in terms of consistency or average age. If the aging problem is not addressed, the future of the league and the national team is in jeopardy. Future players may not be as strong as the current ones, which will lead to a continued decline in the league's standard. We must pay attention to the development of young players.
