2025 CSL Review: Booming Fan Base and Emerging Young Talents Bring Hope Amidst Massive Tax Debts in Several Clubs

Reporter Chen Yong reports The just-finished 2025 CSL season witnessed a booming fan market, outdoing even the 2016 season, which was driven by lavish spending. The total attendance in 2016 was 5,800,957, whereas in 2025 it surpassed 6 million, reaching 6,180,990. This marks a 32.54% increase compared to the 4,663,507 total attendance in 2024.

General forecasts suggest that the 2026 CSL season’s fan base is likely to grow further. The thriving CSL enhances the league’s brand value and is expected to generate higher commercial revenue, contributing to the league’s overall health improvement.

The rise of young players was a major highlight of the 2025 CSL season. Thanks to the gradual recovery of youth training systems and the adjustment of the CSL U21 registration policy (increasing from 5 to 8 players), the total U21 playing time reached 33,937 minutes, with average appearances per game up 172% and average playing time per game up 238% compared to 2024. U21 players scored a total of 35 goals.

This season, the CSL was fiercely competitive with a high goal count. However, due to the relative underperformance of domestic players and reduced overall investment leading to lower quality foreign players, clubs struggled in the AFC Champions League. This was also influenced by the competition’s format change: shifting from a calendar-year schedule to a cross-year schedule caused fatigue among CSL teams during the AFC matches. Additionally, crucial league title battles conflicted with AFC fixtures, putting clubs in difficult positions. Overall, the decline in CSL clubs’ competitiveness is the main reason for their poor AFC results.

In the past two years, the health of CSL clubs has significantly improved, with stability increasing across the three-tier professional leagues. However, some clubs still face wage arrears, and a more concerning issue is that several clubs owe substantial tax debts.

At the start of the season, few would have predicted that the 2025 CSL would be so vibrant, with attendance surpassing 6 million for the first time—a historic milestone. Of the league’s 13 matches with over 60,000 spectators, 12 occurred this season. Dalian Professional attracted over 60,000 fans 10 times, while Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua each had one such match. The highest attendance was 62,330 at the season finale between Dalian Professional and Shanghai Port, marking the second highest single-match attendance in CSL history. Comparatively, Dalian Professional, Beijing Guoan, and Chengdu Rongcheng ranked 18th, 41st, and 50th respectively in the world’s top 50 club attendances.

The explosive growth in CSL’s fan base has naturally boosted the league’s brand value. From a commercial perspective, CSL is poised to achieve higher revenues in the future.

Away fans also stood out this season, with a total of 187,794 traveling to away games—an increase of 31% from 143,225 in 2024, roughly matching the overall attendance growth. In this regard, the CSL has a strong cultural and tourism impact, as many fans travel across provinces and cities. Teams like Shandong Taishan, Chengdu Rongcheng, Henan, and Zhejiang have mobilized their entire provinces’ fanbases, which are not counted as away fans. Additionally, many visiting supporters purchased home team tickets, which are not included in these statistics.

General predictions indicate that the 2026 CSL season’s fan base will continue to grow, as the two promoted teams, Liaoning Ironmen and Chongqing Tongliang Long, are expected to boost attendance. The two relegated teams in 2025, Changchun Yatai and Meizhou Hakka, ranked second to last and third to last in attendance this season, averaging only 11,024 and 12,591 fans respectively. Regarding fan base development, Wuhan Three Towns must improve; their average attendance was 9,880, the only team averaging below 10,000.

Young players performed impressively this season. Across 30 rounds, 61 U21 players made 554 appearances, including 307 starts, 160 full matches, and 339 appearances of 45 minutes or more. U21 players scored 35 goals, with Wang Yudong earning the top domestic scorer title. Compared to the 2021 season, this year’s U21 best lineup showed a goal ratio of 28 to 14 and an assist ratio of 18 to 2—a remarkable improvement.

The standout performances of U21 players are fundamentally due to the gradual revival of China’s youth training system, evident from the performance of various youth national teams born after 2005. Another crucial factor is the CSL registration policy change: from the previous 30 players (no age limit, including foreigners) plus 5 U21 players to this season’s 27 plus 8 with distinct A and B lists. This policy leverages important incentives and balances the playing needs of young players across the CSL, B teams, and U21 leagues. Considering global football norms, a 25+10 registration policy would be ideal. In the latter half of 2025, Shandong Taishan effectively registered 25+10, with two U21 players, Peng Xiao and Mei Shuaijun, included in the unrestricted A list.

From the perspective of Chinese football development, especially the national team, the emergence of more young talents in the CSL genuinely supports the national team. The previously favored approach of “the league yielding to the national team” was not truly supportive and arguably detrimental to both.

A reassuring trend is that besides the strong U21 performances in the CSL and the comprehensive experience gained by four CSL B teams in China League Two, the U21 league will be restructured starting in 2026. By merging with the U19 youth competition, a top-tier home-and-away league will be created, offering better development opportunities for young players.

From the CSL’s standpoint, the 2025 season continued the intense competition seen in the past two seasons, with extended stoppage time adding suspense after regulation. A total of 771 goals were scored, slightly more than the 750 in 2024, averaging 3.21 goals per game, maintaining a high level. The average net playing time was 54 minutes and 8 seconds, marginally higher than in 2024. Notably, all 16 CSL teams had similar average net playing times, with none below 50 minutes per game.

However, on the Asian stage, the CSL’s competitiveness is declining: in the 2023 AFC Champions League, Shandong Taishan reached the quarterfinals; after the 2024 format change, two CSL teams reached the elite eight in the 2024/2025 season. After five rounds in this season’s elite AFC competition, the three CSL clubs rank among the bottom three. Shanghai Port, the league’s three-time consecutive champion, has one draw and four losses, sitting last in the East Asia zone.

The reasons for CSL clubs’ poor rankings are clear: first, domestic players are in a slump, with the core age group (born 1997-2003) representing the lowest point in Chinese football. The top four domestic scorers are aged 37 (Tan Long), 36 (Wu Xi), 30 (Wei Shihao), and 19 (Wang Yudong), leaving a gap in prime-aged players. Second, the decline in foreign player quality has directly reduced CSL clubs’ competitiveness, though foreign players’ scoring rates have paradoxically increased, highlighting domestic players’ weaknesses. Third is the aforementioned scheduling conflict.

The CSL’s financial balance policies and salary caps, especially on foreign players, might be relaxed somewhat to maintain clubs’ tactical and technical standards and help them perform better in the AFC Champions League.

Over the past five or six seasons, a common saying has been: “Every year is a tough year-end.” This “tough year-end” refers to the league’s admission criteria, reflecting the financial difficulties faced by CSL clubs.

Compared to the previous wave of club withdrawals, professional clubs have generally stabilized in the past two years, with fewer exits. The reason is simple: large existing contracts almost disappeared in 2025, and club investments were significantly reduced. Additionally, local governments have shown strong enthusiasm for football and bringing in professional clubs, greatly increasing the clubs’ value and making them less likely to be abandoned.

Although wage arrears persist, most clubs’ situations are not severe and can be resolved relatively easily. However, a few clubs have very serious wage arrears, posing risks for league admission.

A more alarming issue than wage arrears is tax arrears. Several clubs currently owe substantial tax amounts, measured in hundreds of millions. While financial audits for admission mainly focus on wage arrears, tax debts impose a heavy burden on clubs.

The Chinese Football Association, local governments, investors, and professional clubs must take the issue of tax arrears seriously and implement practical solutions, such as equity reforms to strengthen club finances, which would help resolve tax debts. Alternatively, local retention or reduction of personal income tax portions could be offered to clubs.

In fact, this newspaper has consistently advocated that China’s professional club financial management policies should not only address wage arrears but also comprehensively monitor liabilities, including shareholder loans, tax arrears, and other debts. This should be a comprehensive plan, using measures such as admission denial, relegation, and point deductions to regulate and ensure the health of the CSL and its clubs.