CFA releases revised rules to further football reform

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By CGTN’s Jiang Mengxi & Wang Meng

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has released its latest set of rule changes, which will further stress the importance of youth development, while also maintaining current limits on the use of foreign players.

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According to the new plan unveiled on the CFA's official website, clubs which are losing money will have to pay the CFA an amount equal to whatever they spend on buying new players. The new rule will become effective during this summer's transfer window. The CFA says it will use the money from such clubs on football development projects.

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Another new rule, which will come into effect next season in the Chinese Super League, the second tier League One, and the CFA Cup, stipulates that the number of under-23 players used in any match should be equal to the number of imports used in that same game (players from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are not counted as imports).

The new policies are expected to have a major impact, particularly on the clubs and players, and some of the early reaction has been strong.

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Chinese Super League team Shandong Luneng said it will support the new rules and work on youth development. Jiangsu Suning under-23 player Gao Tianyi added that he will work hard in training, rather than merely relying on getting playing time through the new policy.

But several football commentators and analysts hold quite different views. He Wei asked if 24-year-old players should retire in the face of the potential effects of the new policy, and Ji Yuyang’s response was a bit cynical, saying he thought it was a joke the first time he saw it.