Reporter Chen Yong reports On October 25th, the men’s U18 final of the 15th National Games football tournament ended, with Liaoning securing the championship. Thus, two of the three men’s football events at the National Games are complete, with only the men’s U20 final remaining in November.

During this autumn and winter season, various Chinese youth football competitions will continue, with the main events being the Chinese Youth Elite Football League, also known as the professional club U-series league. The U15 group (referred to as "U15 League") will hold its final stage from October 25th to November 8th, the U21 group ("U21 League") from November 21st to December 8th, and the U17 group ("U17 League") will have its final stage in mid to late December.

Multiple youth competitions have concluded

On December 21, 2024, the General Administration of Sport, Ministry of Education, and the Chinese Football Association jointly issued the 2025 national youth football competition calendar. This marks the first time China has released a full-year youth competition schedule in advance, and this year’s related youth events are organized according to this calendar.

The Chinese Youth Football League, the National Games football tournaments, and the Chinese Youth Elite League are the three most prominent youth football events in 2025. Besides these, there are also competitions such as the Chinese Youth Football Championship member association matches, key city group contests, the Sports School Cup, and the high school final of campus football.

The men’s competitions of the Chinese Youth Football League have all concluded, with the final champions as follows: U13 group champion is Evergrande Football School U13 team, U15 champion is Shandong Taishan U15 team, U17 champion is Tsinghua High School U17 team, and U19 champion is Shandong Taishan U19 team.

Two men’s football events at the National Games have finished so far, with Beijing winning the U16 group and Liaoning winning the U18 group. The men’s U20 matches are scheduled from November 3rd to 12th.

On the women’s side, all football events at the National Games have concluded, with Shanghai winning both the U16 and U18 groups. In the Youth Championship women’s category, the U14 group has finished, with Suzhou Football Management Center’s U14 team taking the title.

Competitions continue through December

The Chinese Youth Elite Football League, or the professional club U-series league, mainly consists of three competitions: the U21 league, U17 league, and U15 league.

The U15 league is divided into two stages: preliminaries and finals. In the preliminaries, 23 teams compete in 4 groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the championship group, and the 3rd and 4th place teams entering the ranking group. In the finals, the 8 teams in each group play a single round-robin to determine final rankings.

The 8 teams advancing to the championship group are: Meizhou Hakka, Wuhan Three Towns, Shanghai Shenhua, Shandong Taishan, Evergrande Football School, Henan Club, Zhejiang Club, and Dalian Yingbo.

The U17 league consists of three phases: preliminaries, first final stage, and second final stage. In the preliminaries, 31 teams compete in 4 groups in a single round-robin format. The top four teams from each group (16 teams total) advance to the first final stage. This stage is divided into north and south groups, with 7 rounds of single round-robin matches. The top four from each group advance to the championship group, while the bottom four enter the 9th to 16th place ranking group. The second final stage is also a single round-robin to decide final positions.

The 8 teams qualifying for the championship group are: Shandong Taishan U17A, Shanghai Port, Shandong Taishan U17B, Evergrande Football School, Changchun Yatai, Shanghai Shenhua, Liaoning Ironmen, and Guangdong Guangzhou Leopards.

The U21 league format is more complex: the first major phase is the group advancement stage with 19 teams divided into 6 groups. Group winners and the two best runners-up advance to Group G, while the remaining 11 teams enter Group H. The next major phase is divided into three sub-stages: Group G plays a double round-robin mainly for team development, while Group H plays a single round-robin. The top 8 teams from Group H and all 8 teams from Group G advance to the next phase. The third major phase is the promotion stage, where 16 teams split into two groups for single round-robin matches. The top four from each group advance to the championship group, and the bottom four enter the 9th to 16th place ranking group.

The 8 teams advancing to the U21 championship group are: Dalian Yingbo, Zhejiang Club, Shanghai Shenhua, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, Shenzhen New Pengcheng, Changchun Yatai, Henan Club, and Yunnan Yukun. After 7 rounds of single round-robin matches, the U21 champion will compete with the fourth-placed team from the China Champions League for a spot in the China League Two.

The 2025 U21 league season has many rounds; the championship group teams Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang Club played 34 rounds, while the other six teams each played 32 rounds.

On the women’s side, the Youth Championship’s U16 and U18 groups will hold their final stages in mid to late November. Additionally, the national youth women’s football championships for U16 and U18 groups will be held in December.