On December 5th, the Chinese Football Association published statistics for the three professional league levels: the Super League, League One, and League Two. The Super League saw a remarkable 32.54% increase in market size, with U21 players shining brightly and an incredible average of 3.21 goals per game, establishing a new chapter in Chinese professional football and earning widespread acclaim from experts.

The general consensus is that the 2025 season’s surge in the football market has rapidly boosted brand value, the impressive performances of young players have clearly reflected at the national team level, and the increased number of goals along with a more open style of play have enhanced the viewing experience.

After a recovery period in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the professional leagues have returned stronger than ever, presenting fans with an unprecedented spectacle and showing all sectors a brighter future for Chinese professional football. This season stands as a landmark in the development of professional football in China.

The highest-ever booming football market has driven an increase in the league’s brand value

Zhu Yi, the German Transfer Market’s China administrator who has long been engaged in Chinese football data analysis, has repeatedly updated the Super League’s single-match attendance leaderboard over the past year. Historically, there was only one match with attendance exceeding 60,000, but this season that number has risen to 13 matches, including 12 Super League games alone surpassing the 60,000 mark.

The explosive football market is the most direct impression of the 2025 Super League season for everyone. Across the three tiers — Super League, League One, and League Two — total live attendance reached 8,957,759, an 18% increase over 2024. The Super League broke through 6 million attendees for the first time, up 32.54% from 4,663,507 in 2024. It is widely expected that attendance rates will continue to rise in the 2026 season.

Even more striking is the growth in away fans: this season saw 187,794 fans travel to away games, a 31% increase from 143,225 in 2024. The rising number of visiting supporters fully demonstrates the professional leagues’ positive impact on cultural tourism.

The CFA provided data on the event’s influence: the hashtag #ChineseSuperLeague# garnered 10.25 billion views; CCTV broadcasted 62 Super League matches with a cumulative viewership of 357.1 million, up 16.62% year-on-year; and the league’s new media platforms accumulated 182.7 million views, a 30.21% increase.

The football market is directly linked to the league’s brand value. In 2025, overall commercial revenue across the three professional tiers grew 13% compared to 2024, with the Super League’s commercial income increasing by 10%. It should be noted that sponsorship deals are typically secured before the season starts, so the record-breaking 2025 market surge and brand value rise will likely reflect more directly in the 2026 sponsorship contracts.

A representative from China Resources Beverage, the Super League’s title sponsor, stated: “Over the past two years, China’s professional football leagues have developed comprehensively and become healthier. We have been very positive and confident about this. However, this year’s fan enthusiasm exceeded our expectations, with live attendance increasing by over 30%. The substantial rise in brand value is the best return for sponsors. We look forward to an even better 2026 season, building on this foundation to reach new heights.”

U21 players stand out, fueling a comprehensive revival of national youth teams

On March 25, 2025, during the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers’ final 18-team round, Wang Yudong made his senior national team debut against Australia at 18 years and 122 days old, becoming the youngest player to appear for China in nearly 15 years. Less than three months later, on June 10, in the final qualifier against Bahrain, Wang scored the match’s only goal, helping China secure a 1-0 victory. At 18 years and 199 days, he became the youngest goal scorer in China’s World Cup qualifier history.

Wang Yudong’s standout performances for the national team were preceded by his rise at Zhejiang club Greentown, where he gradually became a regular starter. Before scoring for the national team, he had already netted 8 goals in 13 Super League matches.

In the 2025 Super League season, U21 players performed exceptionally well. The football newspaper commented: previously, U23 players needed policy support, now U21 players are competing for spots. Statistics show that U21 players made 554 appearances, started 307 matches, and logged 33,937 minutes—representing a 172% increase in average appearances and a 238.7% increase in playing time compared to 2024. Sixty-one U21 players scored a total of 35 goals, with Wang Yudong ranking eighth in the league’s top scorers and first among domestic players with 11 goals. The impressive displays go beyond him: attackers like Li Xinxiong, Kuai Jiwen, Liu Chengyu, Mao Weijie, and Fan Xulin emerged, while defenders including Peng Xiao, Yang Haoyu, Zhu Pengyu, Zhang Zhixiong, and Shuai Weihao provided solid performances, collectively creating a youthful vibrancy in the league.

Data shows that U21 players across the three professional tiers scored a combined 375 goals, clearly reflecting the revival of Chinese youth football at these levels. At the national team level, while the 2000, 2001, and 2002 age-group teams missed qualification for the U17 and U20 Asian Cups three times, the six youth national teams from the 2003 to 2008 age groups (three U17 teams, two U20 teams, and one U23 team) all returned to the Asian Cup finals or reached the quarterfinals. China’s youth national teams are increasingly close to returning to the U17 and U20 World Cups.

Jiao Fengbo, General Manager of Zhejiang Club, said: “Wang Yudong’s success is the best reward for Greentown Football School’s persistent youth training. What’s even more gratifying is that Zhejiang players have contributed significantly to the national team after gaining experience in the professional leagues. We are very proud of this.” Regarding the widespread emergence of U21 players this year, Jiao believes Chinese youth football is undergoing a full recovery: “National policies are fully favoring youth football, many Super League clubs have consistently invested in youth training, and youth competitions have become increasingly competitive. After a low point, Chinese youth football is rapidly rising, which fills us with confidence in the professional leagues and all levels of the national teams.”

Impressive goal numbers and a more open style of play — teams refuse to park the bus or play overly defensive

Thanks to the extended stoppage time introduced in the 2024 Super League season, tactics such as “parking the bus” and time-wasting have become ineffective. As a result, the net playing time in the Super League jumped from 50 minutes and 51 seconds in 2023 to 54 minutes and 1 second in 2024, and further to 54 minutes and 8 seconds this season, showing steady improvement over three consecutive years. League One’s average net playing time reached 52 minutes and 32 seconds, the highest in six seasons, and League Two’s was 53 minutes and 53 seconds, also a six-season high.

Another highlight of this season’s Super League is the high number of goals: a total of 771 goals were scored, averaging 3.21 goals per game. Although this total is the second highest in Super League history, the combined goals scored by 16 teams over 30 rounds is the highest ever. The only season surpassing this total was 2022, but its average goals per game were only 2.85, significantly lower than this season.

This season’s Super League was also unprecedentedly intense, as reflected in running distance and high-intensity running data: the average total running distance per match (both teams combined) was 225,602.37 meters, with high-intensity runs reaching 17,560.87 meters, showing a notable increase compared to previous seasons.

The Chinese Football Association has continuously focused on discipline and sportsmanship, which is also evident in the data: the Super League averaged 4.13 yellow cards and 0.22 red cards per match, with red cards decreasing. Disciplinary actions dropped by 16% in the Super League (21 cases), 40% in League One (21 cases), and 12.96% in League Two (47 cases). In terms of refereeing, 1,680 referees were assigned to the 2025 Super League, including 8 foreign referees officiating 13 matches and one female referee serving as the main official for the first time. The CFA’s refereeing committee reviewed 193 cases across the three professional tiers and invited 95 assessments from supervisors.

Wang Shijie, a well-known match supervisor with years of experience in Chinese football, stated: “From a tactical perspective, although Chinese professional leagues still lag significantly behind the world’s top leagues, positive changes in the 2025 season are clearly visible. Both title contenders and relegation battlers adopted more open tactics, resulting in a comprehensive increase in goals. Another notable feature is that no Super League club suffered from drastically poor performance or insufficient net playing time; all clubs averaged over 51 minutes of net playing time. As a longtime football professional, this is very encouraging.”