The Chinese Football Association League marked its first anniversary, with professional league ticket sales surpassing 600 million yuan.

Reporter Chen Yong reports. On January 23, 2026, the CFA League marked its first year since establishment. During the football congress on the 20th, Chairman Li Kemin introduced the progress of the three-tier professional leagues in 2025 and outlined expectations for Chinese professional football's development in 2026.

After the conclusion of the 2025 season, the CFA League released data on the three-tier professional leagues, highlighting a remarkable milestone: the Chinese Super League (CSL) attracted over 6 million spectators in person for the first time ever, representing a 32.54% increase compared to the 2024 season — an almost one-third surge that is truly impressive.

At the congress, the CFA League also revealed another statistic: in 2025, the combined ticket revenue of the CSL, China League One, and China League Two reached 640 million yuan, a 38.12% increase. Among them, the 16 CSL clubs generated a total ticket income of 581 million yuan, up 37%. This means the average ticket revenue per club was approximately 36.31 million yuan. According to sources, two clubs surpassed 100 million yuan in ticket sales.

Although some clubs still face financial difficulties, overall, the combination of government support, league revenue sharing, ticket sales, and sponsorships has enabled several clubs to reach a break-even point.

Of course, clubs aiming for championships require larger budgets, and some smaller clubs have lower ticket sales and limited sponsorship income. Therefore, ensuring stable funding for these clubs remains a challenge. In the long term, clubs with stronger ticket appeal are more likely to establish themselves firmly in the CSL, as they not only generate direct ticket revenue but also more easily attract government attention and support.

The 2026 season for the three-tier professional leagues will see efforts on multiple fronts, including upgrades to the VAR system, increased focus on commercial development, and prioritizing youth training.

The 2026 CSL season will continue to deepen governance, strengthen organizational foundations, and advance the professional conduct within the football industry. Beyond these foundational tasks, the professional leagues will introduce the following changes in 2026:

(1) Emphasis on commercial development. Besides continuing to enhance the CFA League company’s structure, a Business Committee will be established. The booming ticket market of the 2025 three-tier leagues, especially the CSL, has laid a solid foundation for overall commercial growth. Both promoted CSL teams in 2026 demonstrate promising ticket market potential, and the general consensus is that the three-tier professional leagues’ ticket market will continue to grow in 2026.

(2) Continued improvement of referee development. Regarding refereeing, the CFA League plans to implement a centralized Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. This centralized VAR has been used for years in the five major leagues and other competitions.

(3) Strong focus on professional youth training. Beyond the professional leagues themselves, youth training remains a major priority for the three-tier leagues. The CFA League will persist in strengthening the youth training system. In 2025, it organized multiple youth training seminars, including a China-England professional football youth training exchange in cooperation with the English Premier League.

In the 2026 season, a home-and-away U20 league will be officially launched, formed by merging the U19 group of the China Youth League and the U21 Elite League. This integration addresses the reality that some clubs field the same squad in two leagues, easing their burden, while also consolidating resources to focus funds and personnel on implementing the home-and-away format. Meanwhile, the U15 and U17 Elite Leagues have already been merged into the China Youth League. It is recommended to build shorter, higher-quality U15 and U17 professional club championships based on the China Youth League.

Starting from the 2026 season, the CFA League will support clubs excelling in youth training to encourage more professional clubs to engage in youth development. Besides aiding the revitalization of Chinese football, this also aims to enhance clubs’ self-sustaining capabilities. The emergence of more young talents can truly invigorate the entire league’s transfer market, allowing transfer fees to become a revenue source for clubs and even the main income for some youth-focused clubs.