# Chinese Professional Football League

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Football league

Chinese Professional Football League 中国足球职业联赛联合会 Founded 23 January 2025; 17 months ago (2025-01-23) Country China Confederation AFC Divisions Chinese Super League China League One China League Two Number of clubs 52 Level on pyramid 1–3 Relegation to Chinese Champions League Domestic cup Chinese FA Cup Current champions Shanghai Port (2025) Website cfl-china.cn

Chinese Professional Football League Simplified Chinese 中国足球职业联赛联合会 Traditional Chinese 中國足球職業聯賽聯合會 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó Zúqiú Zhíyè Liánsài Liánhéhuì

CFL Simplified Chinese 中足联 Traditional Chinese 中足聯 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngzúlián

The **Chinese Professional Football League**[a] ([Chinese](/source/Simplified_Chinese_characters): 中国足球职业联赛联合会; [pinyin](/source/Pinyin): *Zhōngguó Zúqiú Zhíyè Liánsài Liánhéhuì*), abbreviated as **CFL** ([Chinese](/source/Simplified_Chinese_characters): 中足联; [pinyin](/source/Pinyin): *Zhōngzúlián*), is an independent federation aimed at operating all levels of China's professional [football](/source/Association_football) [leagues](/source/Sports_league), overseeing the [Chinese Super League](/source/Chinese_Super_League) (CSL), [China League One](/source/China_League_One), and [China League Two](/source/China_League_Two).[3] Established in 2025, it replaced the [Chinese Football Association](/source/Chinese_Football_Association) (CFA)'s direct management of leagues to improve governance and financial sustainability.[4]

The CFL was created under China's 2015 football reform plan to decentralize league operations. It manages commercial rights, scheduling, and promotion/relegation, while the CFA retains regulatory powers. The league aims to curb corruption and overspending.

## History

**2015**: The [State Council](/source/State_Council_of_China)'s "Football Reform Plan" proposes separating league management from the CFA.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

**2022–2024**: Anti-corruption crackdown arrests 13 CFA officials, including former chairman [Chen Xuyuan](/source/Chen_Xuyuan).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

**2025**: CFL officially launches with 56 clubs across three tiers. The inaugural council includes representatives from clubs, media, and legal experts.[5]

## League structure

The CFL operates three tiers:

1. **[Chinese Super League](/source/Chinese_Super_League)** (16 teams)

2. **[China League One](/source/China_League_One)** (16 teams)

3. **[China League Two](/source/China_League_Two)** (24 teams): Includes reserve squads (e.g., [Shandong Taishan B](/source/Shandong_Taishan_F.C.)) and promoted [Chinese Champions League](/source/Chinese_Champions_League) teams.

## Footnotes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** 中国足球职业联赛联合会 literally means "Chinese Professional Football League Union" instead of "Chinese Professional Football League".[1] In fact, "Chinese Professional Football League" is the translation of 中国足球职业联盟 (or 中国职业足球联盟), the name proposed during the organization's preparation phase.[2]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["China to establish professional football league union, says CFA chief"](https://www.chinadailyhk.com/hk/article/602023). *chinadailyhk*. Retrieved 2025-01-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["重磅：职业联盟全面夺权足协 不能任其成自由王国"](https://www.titan24.com/publish/app/data/2016/11/05/26460/os_news.html). *www.titan24.com*. Retrieved 2025-01-29.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["China establishes independent federation to run professional football leagues"](https://english.news.cn/20250123/6475792fe1b740bcad23bd2fb993b94b/c.html).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["中足联负责人：职业联赛管办分离改革迈出实质性步伐"](https://www.jfdaily.com/staticsg/res/html/web/newsDetail.html?id=850045). *www.jfdaily.com*. Retrieved 2025-01-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["China establishes independent federation to run professional football leagues"](https://english.news.cn/20250123/6475792fe1b740bcad23bd2fb993b94b/c.html). *english.news.cn*. 23 January 2025.

## External links

- [CFL Coverage on Sohu Sports](https://www.sohu.com/sports)

- [Chinese Football Association](http://www.cfa.org.cn)

v t e Football in China Chinese Football Association National teams men: Men's (Results) players Men's B Olympic (U-23), Selection (U-21) U-20 U-17 Beach Futsal women: Women's (Results) players U-20 U-17 U-14 Futsal League system men: Chinese Professional Football League Super League League One League Two CMCL Fifth-tier Zhejiang women: Women's Super League Women's League One youth: Chinese Youth Football Elite League U-21 U-19 U-17 U-15 China Youth Football League Domestic cups men: CFA Cup Super Cup Super League Cup National Games women: Women's Championship Women's FA Cup Women's Super Cup National Games Regional tournaments men: Guangdong–Hong Kong Cup Hong Kong–Shanghai Inter Club Championship Jiangsu Football City League Jingjinji Champions Cup Village Super League women: Women Guangdong–Hong Kong Cup International tournaments men: China Cup Four Nations Tournament Panda Cup (U-19) women: Four Nations Tournament Yongchuan International Tournament CFA International U19 Women's Football Tournament CFA International U16 Women's Football Tournament Awards Chinese Football Association Footballer of the Year Lists List of clubs List of venues Foreign players All-time Table Clubs in Champions League Men's clubs Women's clubs Men's players Women's players Expatriate footballers Managers Referees List in the Chinese Super League in FIFA competitions Venues Records Women's football in China Youth football in China

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chinese Professional Football League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Professional_Football_League) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Professional_Football_League?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.