Dalian Yingbo host Beijing Guoan in the Chinese Super League match on May 5, 2025 at Suoyuwan Football Satdium in Dalian. Photo: IC

China's top-tier football league, the Chinese Super League (CSL), resumes this week after a long international break, during which the Chinese national football team was defeated from qualifying to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Though the national team's failure to qualify may dampen the enthusiasm toward football, several young players have emerged, who have been highlighted as the hopes for China in future competitions.

One of the most-watched players is 18-year-old forward Wang Yudong, who plays for Zhejiang FC in the CSL. His penalty goal in China's 1-0 victory against Bahrain helped the team to avoid a bottom finish in the six-team qualifying group.

The young player, who made his name through his quality performances during the under-20 Asian Cup earlier this year, has become the domestic top scorer in the CSL with eight goals in 12 matches. His growth has transcended club rivalry. 

During Zhejiang's away game against Shandong Taishan, he scored two goals against the hosts but he won applause from local Shandong fans.

Jian Xuejie, a spokesperson for the Chinese Professional Football League (CPFL), noted that Wang is not the only young player to gain attention.

"The number of appearances and playing time of young players in the three-tier leagues have both shown an upward trend," Jian told the Global Times at a CPFL news conference. 

"Under-21 players made 200 appearances with a total playing time of 10,594 minutes, compared with the same period in the 2024 season, which stayed at 65 appearances and 3,016 minutes," she said, before noting that 10 under-21 players have scored in the top flight this season.

The development of the league is one of the most important guarantees for the future of the Chinese national team, said Zhang Bin, a Beijing-based sports commentator. 

"During the World Cup Asian qualifiers, we have witnessed several young players turning heads, such as Hu Hetao of Chengdu Rongcheng, Liu Chengyu of Shanghai Shenhua, and Xie Wenneng of Shandong Luneng," Zhang told the Global Times. 

"Their living to promise might direct domestic clubs to strengthen their efforts in cultivating young talents."

Football player Wang Yudong. Photo: IC

Growing attendance

It came as a surprise that the top attendance of a league match this season to date was not from a traditional CSL giant, but Dalian Yingbo, who were participating in the CSL for the first time.

Yingbo, though sitting in a mediocre 10th place in the CSL table this season, saw four of its home matches register the highest fan attendance in the league's all-time attendance ranking. 

During Yingbo's home match against Beijing Guoan on May 5, the Suoyuwan Football Stadium witnessed a record number of 61,185 fans in attendance, the second highest number in CSL history in terms of attendance.

"The cumulative attendance in the first 13 rounds of the CSL reached 2,461,478, with an average of 24,371 spectators per game," Jian said. 

"This represents a 21.69 percent increase compared to the same period in the 2024 season, which saw the cumulative attendance of 2,062,859 and an average of 20,028 spectators per game."

Following Yingbo's league's leading average attendance of 60,064, current league third-placed Beijing Guoan have seen an average of 47,978 people, while second-placed Chengdu Rongcheng's average stands at 41,061.

The professional league's game attendance might face "threats" from the ones of amateur football games, however, as recently a regional amateur football competition Jiangsu Football City League is fast-growing its popularity, attracting fans not just from inside of the East China's Jiangsu Province.

Sustainability matters

Certain CSL teams spent astronomically signing foreign talents in the past, which ultimately led to financial woes resulting in the clubs being defunct and disbanded. 

Such teams include, but not limited to Jiangsu FC, which won the league title in 2020 but dissolved before the beginning of the 2021 season.

To address the sustainability issue, the CPFL, which was established in January 2025 to strengthen the development of domestic football leagues, invited football industry experts from European leagues such as the German Bundesliga, the Spanish La Liga, and the English Premier League for a workshop over domestic clubs.

Peter Leible, a senior consultant with the German Football League (DFL), hailed the establishment of the professional body.

"It's important for the league to have the overview. And with this overview, we can handle and balance the league," Leible told the Global Times, highlighting the DFL's management of German clubs, whose financial sustainability has won a global reputation.

"The financial system is only working due to the fact that it's centralized and overseen byus ... We only can be successful if the clubs are developing this system together; contribute, accept, and execute together with us."

He noted that the licensing system of the DFL is vital for club sustainability.

"The backbone of this success is our licensing system; a business forecast and auditing before the season and during the season," Leible said. "If this business forecast is not in line with our regulations, we can sanction or punish the club until you have to adjust.

Attending the workshop, La Liga President Javier Tebas said that China's football potential is "enormous," as the league penned a strategic collaboration agreement with the CPFL over the next four years.

Li Kemin, chairperson of the CPFL, emphasized that the development of domestic professional leagues and clubs is a systematic project involving reforms and innovations. 

"The workshop has built a platform for the healthy development of Chinese professional football, helping club managers update their concepts and enhance their capabilities," she said.