Suzhou was in the spotlight on Nov. 26, when the CFA Professional League Summit was held here, with in-depth discussions centering on the topic of professional league entry and preparations for the 2024 season.
In the new season, both the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League A will welcome 16 teams, while the Chinese League B will have 20 teams. Looking ahead to the 2025 season, the size of the Chinese B League will expand even further.
Regarding the schedule, the three-tier professional leagues will undergo a rigorous admission review to ensure that the tournaments can start as scheduled in March. The specific arrangements are as follows: the Super League will open on March 1 and end on November 2, with 30 rounds of double round-robin home-and-away confrontation; the Central League will start on March 9 and end on November 3, with 30 rounds of double round-robin matches as well; the Central League B will kick off on March 23 and end on October 20, with 28 rounds of matches throughout the year, and the North and South zones will have 18 rounds of double round-robin matches between the North and South and a 10-round double round-robin match between the title contenders and the relegation groups in the second stage. The second stage will be a 10-round double round-robin tournament between the championship and relegation groups.
At the policy level, the number of foreign aiders will remain stable, but a no-foreign-aid policy will be implemented in the Chinese B League.
The main round of the 2024 FFA Cup will be played over eight rounds, with qualifying matches to be played in January, involving the top two teams in the member associations' rankings, to determine the top 12 to advance to the first round of the FFA Cup. The date for the Super Cup has been locked in for either February 25th or 26th.
According to the soccer newspaper, the new season will implement the ban on off-site transfers, the future may be adjusted according to certain conditions; team naming rights will be considered on the basis of the club's neutral name, which is still in the planning stage, and its eventual landing remains to be seen.
