What is ailing the Chinese Super League? History, issues and the way forward

In 2017, Brazilian attacking midfielder Oscar completed a move to the Chinese Super League for a record fee of 60 million pounds - one that is yet to be broken. CSL’s day in the sun One could argue that the initial high of the Chinese Super League began when then Vice-President Xi Jinping laid out a tripartite plan to make China a footballing powerhouse - to qualify for another FIFA World Cup, to host a World Cup, and to win the World Cup. Transfer tax, salary cap, attempt to help local players According to CNN, USD 451 million was splurged on transfers during the 2015-16 season, making the Chinese Super League one of the top five spending leagues in the world at that point. “Chinese Super League club expenditure is about 10 times higher than South Korea’s K-League and three times higher than Japan’s J-league. These measures are namely: Football should be based on technology Focus on hard training and recovery from the same Development of youth football and good coaches to ensure that Building a competitive system Promote the integration of sports and education Mobilise local enthusiasm While what Song says does sound like a plan, the “danger” that the Chinese market posed to all the teams in the world at one point, according to former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, seems to have subsided long back.