The Chinese Football Association Super League (simplified Chinese: 中国足球协会超级联赛; traditional Chinese: 中國足球協會超級聯賽; pinyin: Zhōngguó Zúqiú Xiéhuì Chāojí Liánsài), commonly known as Chinese Super League (simplified Chinese: 中超联赛; traditional Chinese: 中超聯賽; pinyin: Zhōngchāo Liánsài) or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in China, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association (CFA).
The Chinese Super League was created by the rebranding of the former top division Chinese Football Association Jia-A League in 2004 (see Chinese Jia-A League, not to be confused with Chinese Football Association Jia League, which is the current second-tier league).
Originally contested by 12 teams in its inaugural year, the league has since expanded, with 16 teams competing in the 2020 season. A total of 32 teams have competed in the CSL since its inception, with 8 of them winning the title: Guangzhou (eight), Shandong Taishan (three), Shenzhen, Dalian Shide, Changchun Yatai, Beijing Guoan, Shanghai Port, and Jiangsu (all one title). The current Super League champions are Jiangsu, who won the 2020 edition.
The Chinese Super League is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in China, with an average attendance of 24,107 for league matches in the 2018 season. This is the twelfth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the sixth-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Liga MX.
The League is now running under the authorization of the Chinese Football Association, The CSL Company, which is currently the commercial branch of the League, is a corporation in which the CFA and all of the member clubs act as shareholders. It is planned that the CFA will ultimately transfer their shares of The CSL Company to the clubs and professional union which consists of CSL clubs will be established as the League's management entity.
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