Sports
2019.10.23 21:07 GMT+8

Spoilers on CBA new season: What will change for the better?

Updated 2019.10.23 21:07 GMT+8
Li Xiang

Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association, speaks at the press conference in Beijing, October 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

China's top basketball league, the CBA, held the press conference for the coming 2019-20 season in Beijing on Wednesday. Multiple senior figures, including Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association, and Wang Dawei, CEO of the league, attended the press conference to give a few spoilers about the new season.

Yao said that the league would have a lot to work on in the new season, including improving the youth development system, increasing the investments by the teams in the area, promoting the salary cap, offering better fan experience, and building new CBA brand image.

Wang Dawei, CEO of the CBA, speaks at the press conference in Beijing, October 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

After that, CBA CEO Wang announced several key time points of the 2019-20 season. For example, the opener will take place between the Guangdong Southern Tigers and the Liaoning Flying Leopards on November 1; the All-Star Weekend will happen on January 11, 12, 2020 in Guangzhou City of south-China province Guangdong; the playoffs and the finals will begin on March 15 and April 26, 2020, respectively.

One of the new policies is the professional referee mechanism. The CBA company will sign a labor contract with five profession referees whose responsibilities include presiding over the games and contributing to referee training programs. Besides, the CBA plans to raise the salaries of part-time referees by over 30 percent.

The championship ring for the Guangdong Southern Tigers is on display at the press conference in Beijing, October 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

In order to add excitement to the games, the league will schedule "Gold Game of the Week" and "Diamond Game of the Month" between heavyweight teams or teams that have stories to tell about their histories. Meanwhile, the league will adopt new design of the championship trophy and add a new award, the Sixth Man of the Year, onto the prize list.

Outside the court, the league is introducing contract security insurance so players can still get paid to support their lives after their career is affected by injuries.

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