The Beijing Youth Daily has revealed that the U21 league is about to undergo a major reform, with the promotion and relegation system possibly coming online and the promotion to the second division being reduced to a single seat.
The U21 League has been in the spotlight since its emergence in the 2021 season. Since the 2023 season, all the clubs in the Chinese Super League have joined. It is worth mentioning that Shenzhen and Qingdao Sea Bulls missed last season's and this season's finals, while the rest of the registered teams, such as Heilongjiang Bingcheng and Guangxi Pingguo Hahong, gave their best.
In order to encourage good performances, the FA and the professional league management have implemented the incentive policy of "Champion and Runner-up Teams through to the B-League" since last season. Compared to the U21 League, the B-League is more competitive and serves as a springboard for young players to reach the professional level. For example, Liang Shaowen and Duan Dezhi of Beijing Guoan U21, the 2022 U21 League champions, have already joined the professional league in the new season, while Wang Haobin of Shandong Taishan, the 2023 U21 League champions, has also become a leading player in various teams.
This season, Taishan and Seaport U21 teams not only won the Championship of China B League, but also ranked sixth and ninth respectively, highlighting the high level of the U21 League. However, will the promotion of four U21 teams to the B League in the last two seasons raise concerns about a decline in the quality of competition? This is precisely the concern of the FA and the professional league management.
According to Beiqing News, the FA and the professional league management will avoid the practice of "only promotion but not demotion" and ensure that the best teams in the U21 league will be sent to the B league. Teams such as Taishan and Seaport B that advance through the U21 League will not be able to advance further into the China A League, so tournament organizers will regulate the percentage of U21 teams in the B League. The fact that the U21 champions and runners-up will be promoted to the B-League is also related to the fact that the B-League will be increased from 20 to 24 teams in the new season.
To ensure the quality of competition in the U21 League, the FA proposes to introduce a relegation mechanism from the 2025 season and reduce the number of promotion places from two to one. The specific measure is that regardless of the performance of the four B teams participating in B, the bottom team will be relegated to the U21 League for the 2026 season.
The implementation of the promotion and relegation system is expected to stimulate the clubs to pay attention to the game. Given that the U21 League has become an important channel for the national team's talent output, the FA will focus on supporting its development in order to create more "elite talent".
