Sponsorship rethink boosts CSL teams

Commercial brands allowed in team names under financial rejuvenation plan

Chinese soccer clubs will be permitted to incorporate the names of commercial sponsors in their team names from next season after a new plan designed to stabilize the domestic game's finances was unveiled on Wednesday.

"Clubs can introduce title sponsorship for their teams for the 2024-2028 seasons. The sponsors need to be legitimate enterprises or brands, and have a positive social image. The title sponsorship will be required to use Chinese characters, while specific terms including 'corporation', 'company' and 'firm' are not allowed in the title sponsorship," the Chinese Football Association said in a statement.

"The names and homonyms of the names of the shareholders of clubs are not allowed to be used in the title sponsorship for the teams. The names of gambling and tobacco enterprises and brands are also not allowed.

"The names used in the title sponsorship should fit the positive image of the Chinese professional leagues and their brand strategy. And they should not violate others legitimate rights and interests, while false or misleading information is not permitted in the names."

The CFA has also stipulated that one team can only be sponsored by one entity, and different teams cannot share the same sponsor. Each title sponsorship should last at least one year, and the team names are not allowed to be changed during the season.

The CFA's new naming regulations sparked wide-ranging discussion and became trending news on Chinese social media. The hashtag "Title sponsorship is allowed" had been viewed over 9 million times within a few hours of the announcement on Wednesday morning.

"After careful consideration and analysis, we adjusted the policy in order to support the healthy development of all clubs, facilitate the long-term and sustainable development of the professional leagues and regulate the naming of clubs and teams," a CFA source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"First of all, we stick to the policy that the club names should still be neutral. And based on that, we allow clubs to introduce title sponsorship to their teams."

The move represents something of a U-turn by the CFA after the national governing body banned commercial sponsors in team names in late 2020, signaling an end to an era of lavish spending by clubs funded by corporate giants such as eight-time Chinese Super League winner Guangzhou Evergrande.

Teams were only permitted to feature an administrative region and a nickname of their choosing in their titles. Sponsor or investor names were forbidden, while names, numbers or characters related to the clubs' owners or shareholders were also banned.

The CFA stressed that under the new policy club names will still need to comply with these regulations, but the clubs' teams can use title sponsors as they look to rejuvenate their coffers following several years of financial struggles that were exacerbated by the pandemic.

"After the end of the big-spending era of Chinese professional soccer, the Chinese professional leagues have experienced several difficult seasons. Many clubs are facing financial difficulties with serious wage problems, which damage the healthy development of Chinese professional soccer," read a Beijing Youth Daily commentary.

"According to the CFA, from the 2018 to 2022 season, a total of 44 clubs from all three tiers of the Chinese professional leagues have been disqualified. Faced with this situation, the CFA has decided to make adjustments. This is a way to create an environment for the clubs to improve their conditions. The new policy can benefit the sustainable development of the leagues."

Also on Wednesday, the CFA announced that it is relaxing some of its rules on foreign players.

The CSL will have two transfer windows this coming season, with each club permitted to register up to seven foreign players in both windows. Teams can have up to five foreign players on the pitch at the same time; last season that number was four. Second-tier clubs can register a total of four foreign players for the 2024 season, and three of those can play at once.

The new rules are seen as a bid to improve the competitiveness of CSL clubs in the AFC Champions League.

"As a matter of fact, CFA president Song Kai indicated last year that he would adjust the policies on foreign players. Judging by the results of CSL teams in last year's AFC Champions League, it's clear that they didn't have enough competitive foreign players. Therefore, it was necessary to increase the quota for imports," read a commentary by Beijing Daily.

"And for many clubs, more foreign players will generate healthy competition for starting places."

shifutian@chinadaily.com.cn