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May 26, 2017

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CFA clamps down on club spending

CHINESE Football Association introduced new policies to control the high-profile purchase of footballers by domestic clubs while pushing the use of Under-23 players.

The association issued the notices late on Wednesday stating that each Chinese Super League and League One team will have to play the same number of U23 players as their foreign counterparts for any match starting from next season.

The CFA also said, starting from the 2017 summer transfer window, if a club is in debt when it buys a new player, it will have to pay the CFA the same money it has laid out in transfer fees. The money will go into the Chinese Football Development Foundation to support youth players at a lower level and promote football.

The policy is aimed at preventing clubs from overpaying when buying new players for short-term achievements.

CSL clubs spent 517 million euros (US$3.982 billion) on buying new players before the start of the 2017 season with Shanghai SIPG spending 60 million euros for ex-Chelsea star Oscar to set a CSL transfer record.

The majority of the clubs in the top two tiers are in deficit status. Players’ salary, transfer cost and prize money for victories are among major expenses. Defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande reported a 937 million yuan deficit last year.

According to a CSL commercial value report at a football forum last year, only two CSL clubs made profits last year: Changchun Yatai and Yanbian Funde. Under the new policy, all the other 14 CSL clubs would have to pay double the fee if they want to buy new players.

The CFA said that the new U23 policy aims to encourage clubs to invest in developing their youth system. Currently, at most three foreign players from one team can play in one match, while each team only has to start with one U23 player.




 

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