On January 15th, the Chinese Football Association officially announced the list of participating clubs for the 2025 season of the Chinese Super League (CSL) and China League One (CL1). Meizhou Hakka, originally relegated to CL1, will be reinstated into the CSL to participate in the 2025 season. This situation arose primarily because the previous CSL team, Cangzhou Mighty Lions, failed to pass the pre-season entry requirements and has announced its withdrawal from Chinese football, allowing Meizhou Hakka the fortunate opportunity to continue competing in the CSL.
In recent years, due to the severe survival conditions of clubs in Chinese football, it has become frequent for previously relegated teams to return to higher leagues. After Cangzhou Mighty Lions confirmed their inability to meet the entry requirements, there were many voices suggesting that Meizhou Hakka would be reinstated to the CSL, and now this has become a reality. Essentially, this is also an inevitable situation. Nowadays, the survival of many teams is at risk, and it is easy for them to disappear with a misstep. However, professional leagues cannot simply reduce the number of participating teams when one withdraws, so it is normal for some teams to be reinstated.
Of course, in such circumstances, we must acknowledge Meizhou Hakka's passion for football. There is no need to stand on a pedestal to criticize or attack the attitudes of some clubs, but indeed, in the current environment, it is completely understandable that some teams do not wish to continue participating in professional events. In contrast, Meizhou Hakka has always been actively seeking to operate their club well. Additionally, due to Guangdong Province's special status, after the dissolution of several well-known teams, the province needs a top-tier league team. In the past, Meizhou Hakka was the least noticeable among Guangdong's teams participating in the top league, but now this team has an additional special responsibility: to revitalize football in Guangdong Province.
Besides Meizhou Hakka being reinstated into the CSL, in the lower-level leagues, Shenzhen Youth and Shanxi United, who ranked third in the China League Two (CL2) in the 2024 season, have been reinstated into CL1.
Although reinstated into the CSL, Meizhou Hakka will face a very challenging situation next season. The team's player age structure has been skewed towards older players in the last two seasons, and after the end of last season, several players have transferred to other teams. Therefore, Meizhou Hakka will likely still have to fight for relegation in the new season.
