In today's turbulent soccer world, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) (referred to as the China
national soccer team
Association) publicly released a heavy notice regarding a series of policy changes for the 2022 professional league season.
This notice details key matters such as the size of the professional league for the 2022 season, the promotion and relegation mechanism, transfer rules, player registration, entry and appearance regulations, and financial covenants.
In terms of league size, the 2022 season of the Chinese Super League and the Chinese First League will consist of 18 teams, and implement the "promotion 3 to 3" system of promotion and relegation. The Chinese B League will consist of 20 teams, including the U19 national men's soccer team.
Regarding the transfer policy, there are two transfer windows for each of the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League A. There is no quota restriction on the transfer of domestic players, while in the first transfer window, Chinese Super League clubs can register a maximum of six foreign players and Chinese League A clubs can register a maximum of three. Cumulatively, the maximum number of foreign players that can be registered is seven for Chinese Super League clubs and four for Chinese League One clubs.
In terms of the rules of the game, each team in the Chinese Super League, Chinese First Division and Chinese Second Division can register 11 players in the starting lineup and 12 players as substitutes for each game, with a maximum of five substitutions and three substitutions in the game, with additional substitutions available at halftime.
中
national soccer team
协
The official notice emphasized that these policies were formulated to implement the overall plan for the reform and development of Chinese soccer and to promote the healthy development of professional leagues.
Below is an overview of the key points of the policy:
I. Scale of professional leagues
Chinese Super League: 18 clubs
Central League: 18 clubs
C.B. League: 20 teams (including U-19 national men's soccer team)
II. Elevation and de-escalation policy
Chinese Super League: 16th to 18th place relegated to the Chinese First Division
Central League 1: 1st to 3rd place promoted to Super League
Central League A and Central League B: Implementation of the policy of "promotion of 3 and relegation of 3"
League B and Champions League: implementation of the policy of "promotion 4 and reduction 2"
III. Professional league transfer registration
No quota for domestic player transfers
The number of foreign player registrations is limited as described above
Transfer registration time and processing regulations are detailed in the specific notice
IV. Registration and appearance policy
Clubs are limited to 18 to 35 first-time registrants, with a cumulative total of no more than 45 registrants for the year
Each team can register 11 players for the starting lineup and 12 players for the bench per game
Foreign player enrollment and appearance requirements are as described above
V. Suspension policy
Suspension of one match for players in the Chinese Super League and Chinese League One who have accumulated four yellow cards
C.B. League player accumulates 3 yellow cards and is suspended for 1 game
VI. Financial engagement indicators
Clubs need to comply with financial binding targets
VII. Other policies
Matters not referred to remain as before
China Football Association (CFA)
April 25, 2022
