On April 25, as night fell, the Chinese Football Association officially unveiled the guidelines for the new professional league season. Compared to previous seasons, one notable change is the expansion of the league's relegation quota. In the new season, the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League A will implement the rule of "promotion 3 and relegation 3", while the Chinese League B will have two teams fall into the Chinese Championship, and the top four teams of the Chinese Championship will be directly promoted to the Chinese League B. This marks the first time in many years that the Chinese Super League has been relegated to the Chinese Championship, and the Chinese League B will have a new season. This marks the first time in many years that the Chinese Super League has implemented the policy of "promotion 3 down 3", which undoubtedly adds unprecedented pressure to the team's relegation road.
Looking back at last season, the Chinese Super League experienced a round of expansion, the number of teams increased from 16 to 18, and the number of rounds in the season also increased to 34. However, due to the influence of the external investment environment, some of the Super League teams chose the "bad" strategy. Last season, the Super League adopted the 0.5+0.5 relegation rule, resulting in Qingdao and Dalian People's Team losing in the two rounds of the Super League play-offs and eventually being relegated. At the same time, the rare scene of four teams in the Central League together in the Super League also appeared. The Super League will continue to play 34 rounds of matches this season, and if the system of two promotions and two relegations is maintained, the motivation of the mid- and lower-tier teams will be greatly affected, and the overall quality of the league may also be damaged as a result. Increase the relegation quota, precisely to prevent the middle and lower relegation teams to appear "perfunctory" phenomenon, so as to enhance the overall competitiveness of the league.
As for why the play-off format, which has been used in the last two seasons, was canceled, some insiders pointed out that the Chinese Super League is likely to play a full 34 rounds this season. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) hopes that clubs will be able to determine their positions in the league through a full season, based on their true strengths. The play-off format has a high degree of chance, which is likely to discourage teams from playing every game in the league and may even lead to unfairness.
