Soccer
18:06, 01-Oct-2018
China's Football Association elaborates on its U23 policy for clubs
Updated
17:05, 04-Oct-2018
["china"]
Share
Copied
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) on Sunday released new policies on how many U23 players must be fielded by teams in the country's soccer leagues. Simply speaking, if a club sends three or more players to a national team or training camp, the club won't have to use any U23 players in their games this season.
If a CSL team has one or two players at a national teams or training camp, the team can reduce that amount of U23 players from their games, but still need to leave a spot for a U23 player in their first squad.
Strong teams like Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao are more likely to benefit from the new policies. /VCG Photo
Strong teams like Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao are more likely to benefit from the new policies. /VCG Photo
As for China League One (CLO), if a club has two or more players recruited for national purposes, the team does not have to field any U23 players. If they have one player going to a national team or training camp, the club must still have one US23 player in their first squad.
The new policy will come into effect on October 1 and last to the end of the 2018 CSL season, the 2018 CLO season and the 2018 CFA Cup.
In the on-going 2018 CSL season, teams can only use three foreign players per games but must match that amount with U23 players. Even if no imported talent play, the clubs must have at least one U23 player in their first squad.
Weak teams that rarely see national team recruitment may be in a disadvantageous spot thanks to the new policies. /VCG Photo
Weak teams that rarely see national team recruitment may be in a disadvantageous spot thanks to the new policies. /VCG Photo
Considering that the 2018 seasons for the CSL and CLO and the 2018 CFA Cup are coming to an end, most teams are beginning their last push, be it fora championship, better rankings, promotion or avoiding relegation, therefore it may seem reasonable to let the teams rely on their best players without being distracted.
However, compared with the strong teams with multiple players for national teams who can benefit from the new policy, weak teams they rarely have any player recruited by the national teams and thus have to follow the U23 policy while playing against those who don't have to do so.