The Beijing Youth Daily has revealed that the U21 league is about to undergo a major change, with a promotion and relegation system possibly being introduced, in which the number of places to be promoted to the second division will be reduced to just one.
Since the 2021 season, the U21 league has come into its own. Since the 2023 season, clubs in the Chinese Super League have joined in. Although Shenzhen and Qingdao Sea Bulls withdrew from the tournament for some reasons, other clubs, including Heilongjiang Bingcheng and Guangxi Pingguo Hahong, gave their best to complete the tournament successfully.
Since last season, the CFA and the professional league management have introduced an incentive policy whereby the champion and runner-up teams will be directly admitted to the new season's B-League. Compared with the U21 League, the B League is more competitive and is a key stage for young players to realize their professional dreams.
Players such as Liang Shaowen and Duan Dezhi from 2022 U21 League champion Beijing Guoan U21 have successfully entered professional leagues at all levels, while 2023 champion Shandong Taishan players such as Wang Haobin and Yi Mulan have become mainstays or regulars in teams at all levels. Of the U21 league players registered this season, 13 and 22 have been selected for the U21 and U19 national soccer teams.
This season, Taishan and Seaport U21 teams not only won the Championship of China B, but also ranked sixth and ninth respectively. This not only shows the high quality output of the U21 League, but also inspires other teams to provide professional opportunities for young players. However, whether the promotion of four U21 League teams to the B-League for two consecutive seasons will lead to a decline in the quality of competition in the U21 League has become a focus of concern for the HKFA and the professional league management.
According to the Beijing Youth Daily, the FA and the professional league management do not intend to send the best teams from the U21 league to the China B league only through the "promotion not demotion" method. Teams like Taishan and Seaport B will not be able to advance to the China A-League after advancing to the B-League through the U21 League, so tournament organizers will control the percentage of U21 teams that play in the China B-League. The FA's decision to allow the U21 League champions and runners-up to advance to the China B League is also related to the increase in the number of China B League teams from 20 to 24 for the new season.
To ensure the quality of future competition in the U21 League, one possible option is to implement a relegation mechanism from the 2025 season and reduce the number of places for promotion to the B-League from two to one. Specifically, regardless of the performance of the four U21 teams participating in the B-League, the lowest-ranked team would be relegated to the U21 League for the 2026 season.
Improving the promotion system will undoubtedly inspire clubs to pay more attention to the game. As a stable talent outlet for national-level teams, the U21 League will also receive focused support in the context of the FA's commitment to building "elite talent" in recent years.
