On November 7, the CFA issued a "general order" stipulating that clubs in the 2024 Chinese Super League, First Division and Second Division must submit applications for admission to the new season by December 5th. The Beijing Youth Daily revealed that the AFC, in consultation with the CFA, has decided to provide a two-week maximum buffer period for clubs with problems to supplement and improve their applications in light of the challenges faced by many clubs in terms of survival and operation. This means that all clubs must submit their materials by December 19th. As of Dec. 4, most clubs, including some troubled "problem families," had submitted their entry materials for the new season.
At a professional league working meeting in Suzhou on Nov. 26-27, the preparatory team of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and the Chinese Football Federation (CFF) announced the timetable for the new season for all levels of professional leagues, with the Chinese Super League (CSL) expected to kick off on March 1 next year. The start of the new season is earlier than the previous three seasons, and therefore the timeline for the submission and review of access materials has been advanced.
The AFC has asked member associations' top and second-tier professional league clubs to submit their access materials to the official system from the 2023 season, a move backed by frequent contract disputes and wage arrears in the Chinese Super League and First Division, which have exacerbated the AFC's mistrust of China's professional league access work. For this reason, AFC has imposed strict access requirements on the CFA for the new season.
According to a Beijing Youth Daily reporter, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have communicated several times about the admission of clubs to the Chinese Super League (CSL) and Chinese First Division (CFA) for the new season. The AFC agreed to give "problem clubs" up to two weeks to improve access. As a result, interested clubs have until December 19 to submit qualified materials. As of December 4, most of the clubs in the Chinese Super League, Chinese League A and Chinese League B have submitted their documents, but some clubs have only submitted basic documents, such as confirmation of salary payment forms, the authenticity of which also needs to be verified.
At present, some clubs have encountered major difficulties in access, such as Cangzhou Lions Club of the Chinese Super League, which is facing difficulties due to salary disputes, and Guangzhou Football Club of the Chinese First Division, which has encountered access obstacles due to the same problem. The CFA and CFL preparatory team will announce the access list for the new season at all levels of the league in batches according to the process of the materials submitted by the clubs.
