Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai SIPG players in action during their Chinese Super League clash at Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou, China, November 23, 2019. /VCG
After a five-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 crisis, the Chinese Super League (CSL) is primed to follow in the footsteps of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) by unveiling their new season on July 25. However, the disruptive pandemic means a new set of temporary rules are in place before the eagerly awaited action begins.
The most dramatic change is the introduction of a relegation play-off. In the pre-coronavirus seasons, the bottom two in the 16-team CSL are automatically relegated and the top two in the second division are promoted. The 2020 campaign will have only one automatic movers between the country's top two tiers, while the second relegation and promotion spots will be settled by a play-off.
In a statement released by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) on Tuesday, the Chinese league's governing body confirmed that the playoffs will see the 15th-placed team of CSL face the second-placed team of China League One.
Guangzhou Evergrande coach Fabio Cannavaro celebrate their Chinese Super League title with his players at Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou, China, December 1, 2019. /VCG
Meanwhile, teams will be allowed up to five substitutions per match, which aims to help ease the demands of the congested fixture schedule. Coaches can also name 12 substitutes instead of the usual seven, meaning a match day squad will have 23 players.
The CFA also attempts to tackle the problem of an uneven playing field. Some foreign players have returned to China and resumed training in their clubs, but some have not because of coronavirus-related restrictions. Under such circumstances, the understaffed teams are permitted to apply to reduce the number of foreign players that their full-strengthed opponents could field in a single game.
This may go a long way in assuaging concerns by clubs such as Chongqing Dangdai, whose four foreign players – Brazilian trio Fernandinho, Marcinho, Alan Kardec and Polish midfielder Adrian Mierzejewski – are all still cooping up in their respective countries.
The CFA stressed that all participants of the new season must adhere to a strict health and safety guidelines when CSL teams were split into two groups, with the games to be kick-started in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province and Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning Province.
Manchester City substitutes social distancing in the stands during the Premier League match at St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, England, July 5, 2020. /VCG
As a fresh reminder of the relentless nature of the COVID-19, Bulgaria's health department announced on Tuesday that sixteen footballers and officials from Cherno More and three players from Tsarsko Selo have tested positive for the deadly virus.
The news came after the two sides just played a league game in Sofia on Thursday and The country's health Minister Kiril Ananiev has issued a stark warning that the government will impose more severe measures to prevent the second wave of the coronavirus at stadiums.
The pandemic has already wreaked havoc on the football industry and more challenges are ahead. According to an analysis by the European Club Association, the coronavirus is likely to cost Europe's top-flight football clubs around four billion euros (4.5 billion U.S. dollars) in lost revenue.
"The financial impact of COVID-19 on European clubs, as far as we can see now, is already a seismic shock, even with most competitions up and running again," observed ECA chief executive Charlie Marshall on Tuesday.
"The financial impact does not stop when the game resumes. Rather, it will continue into the next season and we must take measures to create a more sustainable football industry in the long run," he warned.