On January 9th, Beijing time, the second meeting of the 12th member congress of the Chinese Football Association was held in Beijing. The 2024 Chinese Football Association work report released at the meeting pointed out that significant progress has been made in the reform of the "separation of management and operation" in our professional league. All parties will accelerate the establishment of the Chinese Football Professional League Federation (CFLF), which has independent legal person status, and actively and steadily promote the registration of CFLF, improvement of league systems, and adjustment of operating entities.
At present, the CFLF establishment plan has been submitted for approval according to procedures and is expected to be registered in Beijing before and after the Spring Festival of 2025. Authorized by the Chinese Football Association, it will mainly be responsible for the organization and commercial operations of the three-level professional league. These business projects originally managed by the Football Association will be separated.
With the confirmed establishment of the CFLF, the "separation of management and operation" in Chinese football, after thirty-six years, has finally taken another solid step.
According to relevant data, as early as 1989, during the preliminary stage of the professionalization reform of Chinese football, the Chinese Football Association proposed the suggestion of entity establishment, which later became known as "separation of management and operation".
In the early days of the professionalization of Chinese football, the main focus of the "non-separation of management and operation" was on the "Chinese Football Sports Management Center," which evolved from the original division-level unit, the National Physical Education Commission's Football Division, into a directorate-level institution, and the Chinese Football Association with "one team, two signs."
The term "separation of management and operation" was first officially proposed in 2004. That year, seven CSL clubs formed the "G7 Alliance," targeting the "non-separation of management and operation" in the league. In 2005, the CSL Company was established, but Chinese football still maintained "one set of personnel, two signs." Under the lack of effective supervision, fake gambling and black whistles were rampant in Chinese football, leading to the first large-scale "anti-corruption and anti-black" movement in 2010, with high-ranking officials of the Football Association such as Xie Yalong, Yang Yimin, and Nan Yong being imprisoned.
In March 2015, the "General Plan for the Reform of Chinese Football" was officially announced to the public, which included a requirement for the Football Association to decouple from the General Administration of Sport and not to have administrative levels. The State Council took the lead in top-level design for football, elevating individual sports to the level of national policy and strategic development decisions.
On January 5, 2017, the Football Management Center of the General Administration of Sport was officially cancelled, signifying that the Chinese Football Association had officially decoupled from the General Administration of Sport to become an independent social organization legal person. This was also seen as a milestone event for the "separation of management and operation."
However, from the administrative "separation of management and operation" to the actual "separation of management and operation," there was still a long way to go. At this point, the "non-separation of management and operation" specifically meant that the Chinese Football Association acted as both athlete and referee, with the league organized and managed by the Football Association. Both the Football Association and the league still lacked long-term supervision mechanisms and accountability mechanisms. It coincided with the era of "gold football," causing Chinese football to once again become a hotbed of corruption, resulting in a new round of "anti-corruption and anti-black" crackdowns, with Chen Xuyuan, Du Zhaocai, Li Tie, and others falling from grace.
This time, with the official establishment of the CFLF, the Chinese Football Association will, in accordance with the requirements of the "Implementation Plan for the Separation of Management and Operation Reform in Chinese Football Professional League," clarify the list of responsibilities between the Chinese Football Association and the CFLF, fully entrust the league organization, management, and operational functions to the CFLF; provide active support in terms of personnel, finance, and materials during the establishment process of the CFLF, focusing on the transition connection of management entities, policy systems, and professional personnel; continue to strengthen the local responsibility of sports administrative departments and local football associations in league management, and jointly build a professional league system characterized by "separation of management and operation, clear property rights, clear responsibilities, complete organization, and scientific management."
Yangzi Evening News / Purple Cow News reporter Zhang Chenxing Zhang Hao
Proofread by Xu Heng