When does the next Chinese Super League season start?

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Amid speculation that the Chinese Football Association (CFA) will unveil a raft of measures to further rein in excessive spending, the dates for the new season in China's top flight have been announced.

The upcoming Chinese Super League campaign will start on March 1, 2019 and finish on November 30, 2019, with five international breaks setting aside for preparations for 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Shanghai SIPG are defending champions and will be looking to retain their title following a sparkling and historic season that saw them dethrone seven-time CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande.

Shanghai SIPG are crowned Chinese Super League champions for the first time in the club's history. /VCG Photo

Vitor Pereira's side scored an exhilarating 77 goals and don't look to be slowing down any time soon with the incredible firepower of Wu Lei, who converted 27 times last term to win the CSL golden boot - the first Chinese player to achieve the feat since Li Jinyu in 2007.

Wuhan Zall and Shenzhen F.C. are the two newly-promoted teams from the China League One, with Guizhou Hengfeng and Changchun Yatai being relegated to the second tier.

The CFA has also announced its fixture schedule for the 2019 Chinese FA Cup. It will begin with a number of qualifying rounds that commenced in March and the third round will start on April 16, 2019, with clubs from the League One joining the non-league sides left in the competition.

CSL teams do not enter until the fourth round, which will begin on May 1, 2019.

Wuhan Zall win the China League one after five years out of the top flight. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, the CFA confirmed on Wednesday that the CSL foreign player quota remains unchanged in 2019, with teams still only allowed to field a maximum of three non-Chinese players.

And a salary cap will be introduced to domestic leagues for next season, with the cap set at 1.44 million U.S. dollars for a player and a maximum of 1.73 million U.S. dollars for a member of the national team.

It is also announced that the China League One will expand to 18 teams in the 2020 season.