Chinese Super League


The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in China, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association.
The Chinese Super League was created by the rebranding of the former top division Chinese Football Association Jia-A League in 2004.
Originally contested by 12 teams in its inaugural year, the league has since expanded, with 16 teams competing in the current season. A total of 31 teams have competed in the CSL since its inception. Only seven teams of them have won the title: Guangzhou Evergrande,
Shandong Luneng, Beijing Guoan, Shanghai SIPG, Shenzhen Jianlibao, Dalian Shide, Changchun Yatai. The current Super League champions are Guangzhou Evergrande.
The Chinese Super League is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in China, with an average attendance of 24,107 for league matches in the 2018 season. This is the twelfth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the sixth-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Liga MX.
The League is now running under the authorization of the Chinese Football Association, The CSL Company, which is currently the commercial branch of the League, is a corporation in which the CFA and all of the member clubs act as shareholders. It is planned that the CFA will ultimately transfer their shares of The CSL Company to the clubs and professional union which consists of CSL clubs will be established as the League's management entity.

Overview

Competition

Unlike many top European leagues, the Chinese Super League starts in February or March and ends in November or December. In each season, each club plays each of the other clubs twice, once at home and another away. With 16 clubs currently in the Super League, teams play 30 games each, for a total of 240 games in the season.
The two lowest-placed teams by the end of the season are relegated to the China League One and the top two teams from the League One are promoted, taking their places.
The League position is determined by the highest number of points accumulated during the season. If two or more teams are level on points, tiebreakers are, in the following order
  1. Highest number of points accumulated in matches between the teams concerned;
  2. Highest goal difference in matches between the teams concerned;
  3. Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned;
  4. Highest points accumulated by the reserve teams in the reserve league
  5. Highest points accumulated by the U19 teams in the U19 league
  6. Highest goal difference;
  7. Highest number of goals scored;
  8. Fair-Play points ;
  9. Draw by lot;

    Chinese Super League clubs in international competition

When the Asian Football Confederation started the AFC Champions League in the 2002–03 season, China was given 2 slots in the competition. Qualification for the AFC Champions League changed in 2009 as AFC distributed 4 slots to China. The top three of the league, as well as the winner of the Chinese FA Cup, qualify for the AFC Champions League of the next year. If the FA Cup finalists finish the league in 3rd or higher, the 4th place team in the league will take the Champions League spot.
Between the 2002–03 and the 2017 season, Chinese clubs won the AFC Champions League two times, behind Korean K-League with five wins, and Japanese J-League with three wins.
The Chinese Super League is currently first in the AFC Club Competitions Ranking of Asian leagues based on their performances in Asian competitions over a four-year period and FIFA ranking for national teams.

Development

On 17 November 2017, the Vice-president of the CFA, Li Yuyi, disclosed the expansion plan of the top four level leagues of China. The Chinese Super League is planning to expand to 18 clubs, followed by China League One with 20 clubs, China League Two with 32 clubs and the Chinese Football Association Member Association Champions League with 48 clubs.
Also, the CFA stated that "we should build CSL the 6th best league in the world."

History

Origins

The Chinese National Football League was started in 1951, namely the National Football Conference, it was a round-robin tournament with 8 teams participating. In 1954, the competition was renamed as National Football League, the League was divided into two Divisions in 1956 and promotion/relegation between the two tiers started since 1957. In the 1980s, the Chinese Football Association allowed enterprise entities to sponsor and invest in football teams. The League entered Semi-pro period in 1987, sponsored by Goldlion Group, the league played its first ever home and away season, teams participating includes the top 7 clubs of 1986 Division 1 together with Liaoning, who was 1985 season champions but did not compete in 1986 league season due to participate in Asian Club Championship, the tournament was named as National Football League Division 1 Group A, shortly as Chinese Jia-A League, the other 8 clubs of Division 1 and top 4 clubs from Division 2 participated in Chinese Jia-B League. The two groups merged in 1988 season but divided again in 1989.
In 1994, as part of the sports system reform project, the Chinese Jia-A League became the country's first professional football league. The Jia-A league achieved success in its early years, but in the late ’90s heavy criticism existed towards the League's management practices like the lack of continuity in key policies, and some of its member clubs was criticised for a lack of sustainable development. At the same time, the league was affected by gambling, match-fixing and corruption. the chaotic state of Jia-A causes troubled investment environment with sponsors and club owners bowing out. The Chinese Football Association then decided to reform the League system, which ultimately led to the creation of the Chinese Super League. The initial conception is to introduce truly commercial methods and let professional football market operate more freely,drawing on the experience of professional Leagues in Europe to redesign the league structure and strengthen professionalism.
On January 13, 2001, Yan Shiduo, vice-president of the Chinese Football Association, discussed about setting up a new professional league system. In 2002, the CFA made a decision to establish the Chinese Super League, which started in 2004.

Foundation

Compared to the Jia-A, the CSL is a lot more demanding on teams. The CFA and CSL committee imposed a range of minimum criteria to ensure professional management and administration, financial probity, and a youth development program at every club. The CSL published first edition of CSL club criteria in 2002 and revised it several times, club license system was introduced since 2004. Besides the regular professional league, the CSL also has a reserve league, and Youth super league plays in U-19,U-17,U-15,U-14 and U-13 levels.
The CSL and China League One's goals are to promote high quality and high-level competition, introduce advanced managerial concepts to the market, enforce the delivery of minimum standards of professionalism, encourage the influx of more higher quality foreign coaches and players, and gradually establish the European system for player registrations and transfers.

Summary

The first CSL season began in 2004, with 12 teams in the league. The inaugural season was plagued with controversy, which continued from the former league, Jia-A, and where, since 1999, scandals such as match fixing and gambling had been uncovered. This resulted in loss of interest in the domestic game, low attendances and great financial losses.
The original plan was to have one relegated team and two promoted teams for the 2004 season and 2005 season, thus increasing the number of teams in 2006 to 14. But the CFA's decisions caused the relegations to be cancelled for these 2 years.
For the 2005 season, the league expanded to 14 teams after Wuhan Huanghelou and Zhuhai Zhongbang won promotion from China League One. The Zhuhai team, formerly Zhuhai Anping, had been bought by the Shanghai Zhongbang real estate company and relocated to Shanghai for the 2005 season, and subsequently renamed to Shanghai Zobon.
In 2006, the league was planned to expand to 16 teams with the newly promoted Xiamen Lanshi and Changchun Yatai. However, Sichuan Guancheng withdrew before the start of the season, leaving only 15 teams when the season started on March 11. Shanghai Liancheng Zobon, after another change of ownership, was renamed Shanghai United.
In 2007, the league was again planned to be expanded to 16 teams, but once again it found itself one team short. Shanghai United's owner, Zhu Jun, bought a major share in local rival Shanghai Shenhua and merged the two teams. As a result, Shanghai Shenhua retained its name as it already had a strong fanbase in the city, while Shanghai United pulled out of the league.
In 2008, the season started with 16 clubs participating for the first time, however Wuhan protested against punishments made by the CFA after a match against Beijing Guo'an, and announced its immediate withdrawal from the league, which left the season to finish with 15 clubs.
Since 2009, the league has run with 16 stable clubs participating in each year. Two are relegated to China League One, and two promoted from China League One each season.
In 2010, the CSL was beset by a scandal going right to the top of the CFA. The Chinese government took nationwide action against football gambling, match-fixing and corruption, and former CFA vice presidents Xie Yalong, Nan Yong and Yang Yimin were arrested. On February 22, 2010, CFA relegate Guangzhou Yiyao for match-fixing in 2006 China League One Season, as well as Chengdu Blades for match-fixing in 2007 China League One season.
In 2011, the anti-corruption movement had visibly improved the image of the CSL, with increases to attendance. Clubs such as Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai Shenhua began investing heavily in foreign stars. After former Fluminense midfielder Darío Conca transferred in 2011, some notable signings during the 2012 seasons included former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, former Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita and Fábio Rochemback, former Sevilla forward Frédéric Kanouté, former Blackburn Rovers forward Yakubu and former Borussia Dortmund forward Lucas Barrios. Former Japanese national team coach Takeshi Okada took up the reins as the new coach of Hangzhou Greentown, former Argentina national team coach Sergio Batista replaced Jean Tigana as Shanghai Shenhua's head coach, and former Italy national team and Juventus manager Marcello Lippi replaced Lee Jang-Soo as Guangzhou Evergrande's head coach.
In 2012, Guangzhou Evergrande became the first Chinese team to defend their CSL title, and to win consecutive titles. However, eight-time champions of Professional League, Dalian Shide, had seriously financial problems during the entire season, especially after the arrest of club owner Xu Ming. They had planned to merge with Dalian Aerbin, the other CSL club of the city, but the Chinese Football Association blocked the merger at the end, as Dalian Shide failed to cancel their registration as a CSL club before the merger. So Aerbin effectively purchased and swallowed up Shide, including the club's famed academy and training facilities. Dalian Shide was officially dissolved on 31 January 2013. The country's most successful club had ceased to exist.
In 2013, David Beckham became first global ambassador for CSL. Guangzhou Evergrande won AFC Champions League for first time. In February 2013, Shanghai Shenhua was stripped of its 2003 Chinese Ji-A league title as part of a broad match-fixing crackdown. In total, 12 clubs were handed punishments, while 33 people, including former CFA vice-president Xie Yalong and Nan Yong, received life bans. Also in 2013, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao won the Asian Champions League title, the first time a Chinese Super League team has won that award.
In 2014, Guangzhou Evergrande became the first Chinese club to win four consecutive professional league titles.
In 2015, ex-Tottenham midfielder Paulinho moved to Guangzhou Evergrande at the age of 27, Guangzhou Evergrande become AFC champions League champions for second time.
In 2016, Chinese super league became a rising power in the global transfer market. Brazil international Ramires, Colombia international Jackson Martinez and Fredy Guarin were among the notable signings, while Pavel Nedvěd was appointed as second global ambassador for CSL.
2017 saw the Chinese Super League catapulted to global attention. Players such as Oscar, Carlos Tevez, Ricardo Carvalho, Alexandre Pato and John Obi Mikel all moved east during the year. Guangzhou Evergrande won their 7th consecutive league title.
2018, in the 28th round of the 2018 Chinese Super League, the two title favourites Shanghai SIPG and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao clashed head-to-head, with Shanghai SIPG coming away with 5 - 4 hard win over Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao to open up the points gap with Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao. At last, Shanghai SIPG won the 2018 Chinese Super League Champion, thus breaking Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao's 7-year monopoly of the Chinese Super League.
At the 2019 CSL Mobilization Meeting, the CFA Referees Committee officially announced that a professional referee system will be introduced in the CSL in 2019, with two foreign referees including Mark Clattenburg, Milorad Mažić, and three local referees to be officially hired as the first professional referees in the history of Chinese football. The two foreign professional referees will be mainly responsible for enforcing the Chinese Super League, but will also provide coaching and training for local referees.
Affected by COVID-19,the 2020 Chinese Super League has been postponed to July 25. The 16 teams will be divided into two groups to play in Suzhou and Dalian. This year's league was temporarily changed to a "Group stage + Knockout" format and adopted a tournament system.

Planning cooperation structure

The preparatory committee of the Chinese Professional Football League was established on May 27, 2016, with members from 5 CSL clubs, 3 CL1 clubs and 2 CL2 clubs, includes two CFA representatives. The blueprint is to have all of the three professional level leagues of China, the Chinese Super League, China Football League one and China Football League two separated from the League structure of the CFA. The PFL will be a private company wholly owned by its Member Clubs who make up the League at any one time. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The newly formed PFL would have commercial independence from The CFA, giving the PFL licence to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements.
The CFA will no longer hold any shares of the League, but as national governing body for football in China the CFA is responsible for sanctioning competition Rule Books, and regulating on-field matters. It also organises The CFA Cup competition, in which PFL Member Clubs compete and the lower division leagues ranked after CL2, under specific agreement between CFA and PFL. The CFA also has the ability to exercise a vote on certain specific issues, but has no role in the day-to-day running of the CSL, CL1 and CL2.
On January 3, 2017, the CFA announced that Chinese Professional Football League, formed as a limited company, will be established in March 2017, the CSL and CL1 clubs will be found members of the PFL starts from 2017, with CL2 planning to join the system by 2019. The PFL preparatory committee will discuss and establish the regulations and the structures of the PFL, holding the elections of the PFL president in January and February 2017. However, after a series of meetings includes CFA officers and club owners, the plan had been put on hold.

Clubs

Chinese Super League seasons and champions

SeasonChampionsRunners-upThird place
2004Shenzhen JianlibaoShandong Luneng TaishanInter Shanghai
2005Dalian ShideShanghai ShenhuaShandong Luneng Taishan
2006Shandong Luneng TaishanShanghai ShenhuaBeijing Guoan
2007Changchun YataiBeijing GuoanShandong Luneng Taishan
2008Shandong Luneng TaishanShanghai ShenhuaBeijing Guoan
2009Beijing GuoanChangchun YataiHenan Construction
2010Shandong Luneng TaishanTianjin TedaShanghai Shenhua
2011Guangzhou EvergrandeBeijing GuoanLiaoning FC
2012Guangzhou EvergrandeJiangsu SaintyBeijing Guoan
2013Guangzhou EvergrandeShandong Luneng TaishanBeijing Guoan
2014Guangzhou EvergrandeBeijing GuoanGuangzhou R&F
2015Guangzhou Evergrande TaobaoShanghai SIPGShandong Luneng Taishan
2016Guangzhou Evergrande TaobaoJiangsu SuningShanghai SIPG
2017Guangzhou Evergrande TaobaoShanghai SIPGTianjin Quanjian
2018Shanghai SIPGGuangzhou Evergrande TaobaoShandong Luneng Taishan
2019Guangzhou Evergrande TaobaoBeijing GuoanShanghai SIPG

Performances in Chinese Super League

Current clubs

ClubChinese nameOwnersHome stadiumCapacitySeasons in CSLBest finishWorst finishSpell in level 1
Beijing Sinobo Guoan北京中赫国安Sinobo Group ; CITIC Group Workers Stadium66,0002004 to 20201st, 20099th, 2017from 2004
Chongqing Dangdai Lifan重庆当代力帆Desports ; Lifan Group Chongqing Olympic Sports Center58,6002004 to 2006, 2009 to 2010, 2015 to 20208th, 2015, 201616th, 2009from 2015
Dalian Professional大连人Dalian Wanda GroupDalian Sports Center Stadium61,0002012 to 2014, 2018 to 20205th, 2012, 201315th, 2014from 2018
Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao广州恒大淘宝Evergrande Group ; Alibaba Group Tianhe Stadium58,5002008 to 2009, 2011 to 20201st, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 20199th, 2009from 2011
Guangzhou R&F广州富力Guangzhou R&F Properties Co., Ltd.Yuexiushan Stadium18,0002004 to 2010, 2012 to 20203rd, 201416th, 2010from 2012
Hebei CFFC河北华夏幸福China Fortune Land Development Co., LtdLangfang Stadium30,0402016 to 20204th, 201711th, 2019from 2016
Henan Jianye河南建业Henan Haolin Investment Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium29,8002007 to 2012, 2014 to 20203rd, 200916th, 2012from 2014
Jiangsu Suning江苏苏宁Suning Appliance GroupNanjing Olympic Sports Center62,0002009 to 20202nd, 2012, 201613th, 2013from 2009
Qingdao Huanghai青岛黄海Shenzhen Hengye Investment Group Co., ltd. ; Qingdao Huanghai Health Industry Group Co., ltd. ; Others Qingdao Guoxin Stadium45,0002020nonenonefrom 2020
Shandong Luneng Taishan山东鲁能泰山State Grid Corporation of ChinaJinan Olympic Sports Luneng Stadium56,8002004 to 20201st, 2006, 2008, 201014th, 2016from 2004
Shanghai Greenland Shenhua上海绿地申花Greenland GroupHongkou Football Stadium33,0002004 to 20202nd, 2005, 2006, 200813th, 2019from 2004
Shanghai SIPG上海上港Shanghai International Port GroupShanghai Stadium56,8002013 to 20201st, 20189th, 2013from 2013
Shenzhen FC深圳FCKaisa GroupShenzhen Universiade Sports Centre60,3342004 to 2011, 2019 to 20201st, 200416th, 2011from 2019
Shijiazhuang Ever Bright石家庄永昌Kaisa Group Hebei Olympic Sports Center60,0002015 to 2017, 20207th, 201516th, 2017from 2020
Tianjin Teda天津泰达TEDA Investment Holding Co., Ltd. Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium54,6962004 to 20202nd, 201014th, 2018from 2004
Wuhan Zall武汉卓尔Wuhan Zall Development Holding Co. LtdDongxihu Sports Center30,0002013, 2019 to 20206th, 201916th, 2013from 2019

Former clubs

All-time CSL table

The All-time CSL table is an overall record of all match results, points, and goals of every team that has played in CSL since its inception in 2004. The table is accurate as of the end of the 2019 season.
2020 Chinese Super League
2020 China League One
2020 China League Two
2020 Chinese Champions League
Clubs that no longer exist

Rivalries

There are several key rivalries and local derbies that have formed in the Chinese Super League, including:
"Shanghai Derbies"
  • 2004 – Shanghai Shenhua v Inter Shanghai
  • 2005 – Shanghai Shenhua v Inter Shanghai v Shanghai United
  • 2006 – Shanghai Shenhua v Shanghai United
  • 2012 – Shanghai Shenhua v Shanghai Shenxin
  • 2013-2015 – Shanghai Shenhua v Shanghai Shenxin v Shanghai SIPG
  • 2016-now – Shanghai Shenhua v Shanghai SIPG
"Guangzhou Derbies"
"Dalian Derbies"
  • 2012 – Dalian Shide v Dalian Aerbin
"Tianjin Derbies"
''"Beijing Derbies"

Player salaries and transfers

Professional footballers in China receive relatively high salaries when compared to other Chinese sports leagues and football leagues in other countries. The average salary for CSL players is $1,016,579 in 2017, it is ranked at eleventh place among all of the professional sports leagues and the sixth-highest of any professional association football league in the world.
CSL has two transfer windows—the primary pre-season transfer window lasts two months from January to February, and the secondary mid season transfer window runs one month from mid June to mid July. As of the 2018 season, the CSL introduced new rules mandating that each club must register a maximum 31-man squad, with 27 Chinese Players, including a player from Hong Kong, Macau and Chinese Taipei, and 4 foreign players. In the transfer window clubs could sign 5 Chinese players at any age, plus 3 under 21 Chinese players; clubs could register 4 foreign players in the winter transfer, and replace two of them in the summer transfer.
The record transfer fee for a CSL player has risen rapidly since the investment boost started in 2015. The six most expensive transfers with players coming to CSL have exceeded €30 million, with Chelsea selling Oscar to Shanghai SIPG in December 2016 for a fee of €60 million, Zenit Saint Petersburg selling Hulk to Shanghai SIPG for €55.8 million in July 2016, Shakhtar Donetsk selling Alex Teixeira to Jiangsu Suning for €50 million in February 2016, Atlético Madrid selling Jackson Martínez to Guangzhou Evergrande for €42 million in February 2016, Villarreal selling Cédric Bakambu to Beijing Sinobo Guoan for €40 million in February 2018, Atlético Madrid selling Yannick Carrasco to Dalian Yifang for €30 million in February 2018. Guangzhou Evergrande's sale of Paulinho to Barcelona for €40 million in 2017 broke the record for a CSL player transfer to other leagues. Transfer fees for domestic players also increased dramatically. Beijing Sinobo Guoan sold Chinese International Zhang Chengdong to Hebei China Fortune for ¥150 million in January 2017, breaking the domestic transfer record for Chinese players.
The Chinese Football Association introduced a new transfer tax to restrict transfer spending. On June 20, 2017, CFA announced that any club that pays more than ¥45 million for a foreign player transfer or ¥20 million for a Chinese player transfer must pay the same amount to a CFA youth development fund.

Foreign Player policy

In early years numerous players from Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America regions were signed as the foreign players in the Chinese league. Steadily, a lot of players transferred to China from major European and South American Leagues. The league has rules, at present, restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team. A team could use a maximum of three foreign players on the field each game. This is to promote native player improvement and to conform to rules regarding international club competitions in the AFC. Between 2009 and 2017, there was an additional slot for a player from AFC countries. During the middle of the 2012 season, it was decided that teams that were competing in the AFC Champions League were allowed to have two extra foreign players, which can bring the number of foreigners on a team's seven; however, the policy was removed in the 2013 season.
SeasonSquadMatchOn-fieldNote
1994–2000333
2001–2003443From 2001, foreign goalkeepers were restricted to play in matches.
2004–2006332
2007–2008443
2009–20164+14+13+1"+1" refers to the AFC quota. Teams may add a player from another country within the AFC; examples include Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal.
20174+133Teams can use three foreign players at most in a match.
2018–2019.7433Teams can use three foreign players at most in a match. The number of foreign players on-field in one match must be no more than the number of U-23 domestic players.
2019.7–443

Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwanese players

Policy for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwanese players has changed continually. Players from Hong Kong Football Association were considered foreigners at the beginning of 2009, but the league held back the change until the summer transfer window. After the 2010 season, players from Macau Football Association and Chinese Taipei Football Association were not considered foreigners in CSL matches, but will be regarded as foreigners in AFC competitions. In the 2015 season, players who had not played for the Hong Kong national football team, Macau national football team or the Chinese Taipei national football team were no longer deemed native players. In the 2016 and 2017 season, players from the three associations whose contract was signed after 1 January 2016 were no longer deemed native players. From the 2018 season, a club could register one non-naturalized player from the three associations as a native player. According to the Chinese FA, a non-naturalized player refers to someone who was first registered as a professional footballer in the three football associations. Furthermore, Hong Kong or Macau players must be of Chinese descent of Hong Kong or Macau permanent resident, and Taiwanese players must be citizens of Taiwan.

Top scorers and Appearances

RankNameYearsGoalsAppsRatio
1 Elkeson2013–106159
2 Wu Lei2013-2018102172
3 Eran Zahavi2016-8799
4 Gao Lin2005–2009, 2011–87257
4 Han Peng2004–201887250+
5 Li Jinyu2004–201073151
6 Ricardo Goulart2015–201871104
7 Giovanni Moreno2012–66195
8 Qu Bo2004–2014, 201663244
9 Jiang Ning2004–62290
9 Xu Liang2004–2006, 2008–201462244
9 Luis Ramírez2006,2008–2009, 2010–201162143

Bold denotes players still playing in the CSL.
RankNameYearsApps
1 Yang Zhi2005–350
2 Zhang Yaokun2004–2016334
3 Liu Jianye2005–325
4 Wang Song2004–2005,2008–322
5 Xu Yunlong2004–2016315
5 Zhang Xiaofei2004–315
7 Bai Yuefeng2006–313
8 Wang Yun2004–306
9 Cao Yang2004–297
10 Yu Tao2004–2015297

Bold denotes players still playing in the CSL.

Head coaches

In early years Chinese and Serbian coaches achieved success in the Chinese Super League. Just like the Jia-A period, the majority of foreign coaches were from countries like Serbia, Croatia and South Korea. Nowadays most CSL clubs appoint coaches from Western Europe and South America. Guangzhou Evergrande were the first side to spend big to bring in European and South American coaches. World Cup winning managers Marcello Lippi and Luiz Felipe Scolari had successful experiences at Guangzhou Evergrande. Famous coaches who have coached in China include Fabio Capello, Felix Magath, Manuel Pellegrini, André Villas-Boas, Cuca, Sven-Göran Eriksson, Sergio Batista, Radomir Antić.
Head coachClubWinsWinning years
Marcello LippiGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao32012, 2013, 2014
Luiz Felipe ScolariGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao32015, 2016, 2017
Ljubiša TumbakovićShandong Luneng Taishan22006, 2008
Zhu GuanghuShenzhen Jianlibao12004
Vladimir Petrović PižonDalian Shide12005
Gao HongboChangchun Yatai12007
Hong YuanshuoBeijing Guoan12009
Branko IvankovićShandong Luneng Taishan12010
Lee Jang-SooGuangzhou Evergrande12011
Vítor PereiraShanghai SIPG12018

Nat.NameClubAppointedTime in charge
Giovanni van BronckhorstGuangzhou R&F4 1 2020
Uli StielikeTianjin Teda9 9 2017
Fabio CannavaroGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao9 11 2017
José Manuel González LópezWuhan Zall4 1 2020
Li XiaopengShandong Luneng Taishan1 12 2017
Vítor PereiraShanghai SIPG12 12 2017
Cosmin OlăroiuJiangsu Suning28 3 2018
Roberto DonadoniShenzhen FC30 7 2019
Xie FengHebei China Fortune10 5 2019
Chang Woe-ryongChongqing Dangdai Lifan18 12 2019
Wang BaoshanHenan Jianye27 9 2018
Choi Kang-heeShanghai Greenland Shenhua5 7 2019
Aleksandar StanojevićBeijing Renhe28 12 2018
Rafael BenítezDalian Yifang2 7 2019
Shen XiangfuTianjin Tianhai15 2 2019
Bruno GénésioBeijing Sinobo Guoan30 7 2019

Attendance

The Chinese Super League has the highest average attendance of any football league in Asia. However, stadiums have capacity restrictions.

Season averages

Attendance by clubs

This table lists average attendances of clubs yearly, but only for seasons when that club played in the top division. Clubs are listed with their current names.

Individual game highest attendance records

RankHome teamScoreAway teamAttendanceStadiumDate
1Jiangsu Sainty1–1Guangzhou Evergrande65,769Nanjing Olympic Stadium
2Jiangsu Sainty1–2Guangzhou Evergrande58,792Nanjing Olympic Stadium
3Beijing Sinobo Guo'an1–1Shandong Luneng Taishan56,544Worker's Stadium
4Guangzhou Evergrande1–0Guangzhou R&F56,300Tianhe Stadium
5Beijing Sinobo Guo'an2–2Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao56,211Worker's Stadium
6Beijing Guo'an4–0Hangzhou Greentown54,116Worker's Stadium
7Beijing Sinobo Guo'an2–0Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao54,018Worker's Stadium
8Beijing Sinobo Guo'an2–2Shandong Luneng Taishan53,906Worker's Stadium
9Beijing Sinobo Guo'an4–0Beijing Renhe53,887Worker's Stadium
10Beijing Guo'an0–2Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao53,526Worker's Stadium

Awards

The official Chinese Super league annual awards are given to clubs, players, managers and referees based on their performance during the season.

Trophy

The Fire-god trophy is the official trophy award to CSL champions. The trophy was created by the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and donated by the official partner of the Chinese Super League, Hengyuanxiang Group, in 2004. It consists of a pure gold trophy and a nephrite plinth base. The lower part of the trophy is the model of a Great Wall beacon tower; on the upper part, on top of the rising beacon, is a football wrapped by the earth, while the base has the engraved years and names of each Chinese Super League winner since 2004. The trophy weighs. The trophy and plinth are tall.
The trophy is not awarded to the winning club permanently. After the award ceremony they are awarded a replica, and they are allowed to retain the genuine trophy for one year.

Player of the Year

It is also named the "Most Valuable Player".
YearFootballerClubNationality
2004Zhao JunzheLiaoning ZhongyuChina
2005Branko JelićBeijing GuoanSerbia
2006Zheng ZhiShandong Luneng TaishanChina
2007Du ZhenyuChangchun YataiChina
2008Emil MartínezShanghai ShenhuaHonduras
2009Samuel CaballeroChangchun YataiHonduras
2010Duvier RiascosShanghai ShenhuaColombia
2011MuriquiGuangzhou EvergrandeBrazil
2012Cristian DănălacheJiangsu SaintyRomania
2013Darío ConcaGuangzhou EvergrandeArgentina
2014ElkesonGuangzhou EvergrandeBrazil
2015Ricardo GoulartGuangzhou Evergrande TaobaoBrazil
2016Ricardo GoulartGuangzhou Evergrande TaobaoBrazil
2017Eran ZahaviGuangzhou R&FIsrael
2018Wu LeiShanghai SIPGChina

Golden Boot Award

This award is awarded to the top goalscorer of the league that year.
YearTop scorerClubGoals
2004 Kwame AyewInter Shanghai17
2005 Branko JelićBeijing Guoan21
2006 Li JinyuShandong Luneng Taishan26
2007 Li JinyuShandong Luneng Taishan15
2008 Éber LuísTianjin Teda14
2009 Hernán Barcos
Luis Ramírez		Shenzhen Asia Travel / Shanghai Shenhua
Guangzhou GPC		17
2010 Duvier RiascosShanghai Shenhua20
2011 MuriquiGuangzhou Evergrande16
2012 Cristian DănălacheJiangsu Sainty23
2013 ElkesonGuangzhou Evergrande24
2014 ElkesonGuangzhou Evergrande28
2015 AloísioShandong Luneng Taishan22
2016 Ricardo GoulartGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao19
2017 Eran ZahaviGuangzhou R&F27
2018 Wu LeiShanghai SIPG27
2019 Eran ZahaviGuangzhou R&F29

There is also an award that is awarded to the top Chinese goalscorer of that season, which was first introduced in 2011.
YearTop scorerClubGoals
2011Yu HanchaoLiaoning FC12
2012Wang YongpoShandong Luneng Taishan10
2013Wu LeiShanghai East Asia15
2014Wu LeiShanghai East Asia12
2015Wu LeiShanghai SIPG14
2016Wu LeiShanghai SIPG14
2017Wu LeiShanghai SIPG20
2018Wu LeiShanghai SIPG27
2019Wei ShihaoGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao27

Manager of the Year

Youth Player of the Year

There is also an award that is awarded to the U-23 player of the year, which was first introduced in 2017.
YearFootballerClub
2017Huang ZhengyuGuangzhou R&F

Goalkeeper of the Year

YearFootballerClub
2012Deng XiaofeiJiangsu Sainty
2013Zeng ChengGuangzhou Evergrande
2014Wang DaleiShandong Luneng Taishan
2015Zeng ChengGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao
2016Zeng ChengGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao
2017Yan JunlingShanghai SIPG
2018Yan JunlingShanghai SIPG

Sponsors

Title sponsor

The current official title sponsor of the Chinese Super League is Ping'an Insurance, under the second sponsor deal between CSL and Ping'an from 2018 through 2022.

Partners and suppliers

As well as sponsorship for the league itself, the Chinese Super League has a number of official partners and suppliers. The official equipment supplier for the league is Nike who have had the contract since the 2005 season. According to data published by Imedia Culture Communication Co., Ltd, the sponsor value from official partners and suppliers of Chinese Super League reaches 600 million Yuan in 2017 season.
The following table shows the partners and suppliers of the Chinese Super League. Bold denotes current sponsor.
CompanyDuration
Nike2005–2019
DHL2014–2020
Shell2014–2019
TAG Heuer2016–2019
Fengkuang.cn2017–2022
Tsingtao Laoshan Beer2017–2021
Absen LED2017–2020
ImagineChina2017–2019
Ganten2017–
Tmall2018–2022
SAIC Motor2018–2020
Eastroc Super Drink2018–2019
JD.com2010 2013–2017
Ford2014–2017
Red Bull2015–2017
Yanghe2017
Ledman Solar2011–2016
Carlsberg2013–2016
Samsung2013–2014
Huiyuan Juice2014
China Auto Rental2013
SDLG2011–2013
Harbin Beer2011–2012
Shinery Motor2009–2010
Frestech2010
Canon2004–2008
CP-Freda2004–2006
Hengyuanxiang2004–2006
Hyundai Motors2004–2005

Media coverage

China

The first broadcast rights holders of the rebranded Chinese Super League was the Shanghai Media Group, in September 2003 they signed the contract for 2004 to 2006 season. The second SMG contract was signed in February 2007 for the five-year period from 2007 to 2011.
CCTV acquired the CSL Television rights in 2012, and they held the rights until 2015 under annual contract, CSL was broadcast in CCTV's public cable TV channel CCTV5 and CCTV5+. however, the Sateliite TV rights was sold to Cloud Media from 2014 to 2017.
Starting from the 2016 Season The Chinese Super League sold its television rights on a collective basis. However, it benefits CSL clubs almost equally according to CSL commercial contracts. The money is divided into three parts: 10% reserved for the Chinese football association and CSL company, which is paid out as facilities fees and management expenses, as to the remaining 90%, 81% of them is divided equally between the clubs; and 9% is awarded on a merit basis based on final league position.
The current media rights holder is the China Sports Media Co., Ltd., CSM bought the rights for five seasons for 8 billion yuan in October 2015. On January 24, 2018, The CSL and CSM reached an agreement to extend the original five-year contract to a 10-year one and to raise the price to 11 billion yuan, about 1.73 billion dollars according to the exchange rate then prevailing.

Worldwide

Outside of China, currently IMG holds the global media rights to the Chinese Super League. The first contract was signed in 2016 for two seasons, and in 2018 IMG and CSM has sealed a three-year extension. The CSL is now broadcasting in 96 countries across the world.
Country/RegionNetwork
AustriaDAZN
GermanyDAZN
ItalyDAZN
SwitzerlandDAZN
Australia
New Zealand

*Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Croatia
*Montenegro
*North Macedonia
*Serbia
*Slovenia		SportKlub
BrazilESPN
United StatesESPN
CanadaOneSoccer

*Armenia
*Azerbaijan
*Belarus
*Estonia
*Kazakhstan
*Kyrgyzstan
*Latvia
*Lithuania
*Moldova
*Tajikistan
*Turkmenistan
*Uzbekistan		Setanta Sports Eurasia
GeorgiaSilknet

*Bangladesh
*India
*Maldives
*Nepal
*Pakistan		1Sports
IndonesiaMola TV
Timor LesteMola TV
IrelandPremier-Free Sports
United KingdomPremier-Free Sports
IsraelSport 1
MacauTDM
PhilippinesTap Sports
PolandPolsat Sport
PortugalSport TV
SingaporeStarhub
TurkeyS Sport

- other matches also available on Sportdigital

Reserve league and Elite league

In early years the reserve league was open to all of the reserve teams from the Chinese Super League, China League One, and China League Two clubs. In 2011, the lower leagues started their own reserve league. The CSL reserve league strictly allows CSL clubs to compete, it is played at the next day of the regular league, also in home and away format, since 2018, the reserve league is held in the same venue of the regular league.
Starts from 2014 and until 2017, an elite league was held under the reserve league, restricted to players between 17 and 19 years old.
SeasonReserve ChampionsElite Champions
2004Shanghai Shenhua
2005
2006Shandong Luneng Taishan
2007Tianjin Teda
2008Wuhan Guanggu
2009
2010Shandong Luneng Taishan
2011Shandong Luneng Taishan
2012Shandong Luneng Taishan
2013Shandong Luneng Taishan
2014Shandong Luneng TaishanShanghai Shenhua
2015Shandong Luneng TaishanHangzhou Greentown
2016Shanghai SIPGJiangsu Suning
2017Shandong Luneng TaishanGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao
2018Jiangsu Suning
2019Shandong Luneng Taishan

Youth development and Youth super league

Since the inception of the CSL, the CFA has required all of its clubs to operate youth development, yet it was not a strict criteria until 2018. In the CSL club criteria created in 2017, clubs who could not meet the youth development programme criteria will be relegated to lower leagues.
According to the CSL club criteria, the youth teams of CSL clubs must have their own training center, coaching staff, and medical group, and a minimum of 15% of club budgets must be invested into youth programmes. CSL clubs are required to have 5 youth level teams at ages U19, U17, U15, U14 and U13. Clubs must have youth academies and introduce grassroots football plans to cooperate with local football associations, school and social corporations.
In 2017 the Youth League system was officially rebranded as Youth Super League. YSL is open to all the youth teams of all professional clubs, selected football academies and local FA training teams in China. Since 2018 the U19 Youth Super league is played with two groups of 18, a total of 36 clubs. Clubs plays home and away season with promotion and relegation introduced. The U17 and U15 Youth Super Leagues play in six regional leagues with 76 and 77 teams respectively. The U14 and U13 Youth Super leagues play in five regional leagues with 40 and 45 teams respectively.
Besides the Youth Super League, there are also other tournaments for youth teams across China, including Youth Championship plays in pre-season, Youth FA cup runs during the Youth Super League fixture, and Youth Champions Cup plays in off-season.
SeasonU-19/19A ChampionsU-19B ChampionsU-19C ChampionsU-18 ChampionsU-17 ChampionsU-16 ChampionsU-15 ChampionsU-14 ChampionsU-13 Champions
2004Shanghai ShenhuaShandong Luneng TaishanShandong Luneng Taishan
2005Shandong Luneng TaishanShandong Luneng TaishanShandong Luneng Taishan
2006Beijing GuoanShandong Luneng TaishanShandong Luneng Taishan
2007Chongqing LifanShandong Luneng TaishanShandong Luneng Taishan
2008Beijing GuoanChangchun YataiShandong Luneng Taishan
2009Shandong Luneng TaishanChangchun YataiWuhan FA
2010Shandong Luneng TaishanShanghai Luckystar
2011Beijing GuoanShanghai FAHubei FAShanghai Genbao
2012Jiangsu FALiaoning FAGuangzhou FAShanghai Genbao
2013Henan JianyeJiangsu FAShandong Luneng Taishan
2014Shanghai ShenhuaGuangzhou R&FHenan JianyeShanghai Genbao
2015Guangdong FAJiangsu FAShandong Luneng TaishanShandong Luneng Taishan
2016Shaanxi FAJiangsu FAShandong Luneng TaishanShandong Luneng TaishanGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao
2017Shandong Luneng TaishanShandong Luneng TaishanShandong Luneng TaishanChangchun YataiShandong Luneng Taishan
2018Shanghai SIPGEvergrande Football SchoolShanghai Greenland ShenhuaHubei FAShandong Luneng TaishanGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao
2019Guangzhou Evergrande TaobaoShanghai Greenland ShenhuaFujian FAShandong Luneng TaishanShandong FAShandong FAShandong FA