Youth training advanced career! Chinese Super League B team plays in China B: improve the system and eliminate loopholes
Reporter Chen Yong reported that with the completion of the last three games on the afternoon of November 5, the dust has settled on the 2023 U21 league. Shandong Taishan U21 and Shanghai Port U21 finally finished in the top two places in this season's U21 League, and then qualified for the 2024 season of the China B League, where they will compete in the 2024 season under the names of Shandong Taishan B and Shanghai Port B.
The U21 league connects with the second league, the purpose is to build a stable platform at the level of youth training and professional league cohesion, which is also a more mature practice of the European professional league, however, the U21 league and the second league continue to dock in the future, as well as how to finalize the promotion and relegation, registration, etc., including whether the B team can play in the first league, the relevant competition rules have not yet been finalized, this reporter through multiple interviews, a comprehensive interpretation and in-depth analysis of relevant matters.
Before discussing the rules, let's take a look at the performance of the Youth Army of China League A, China B and China Championship.
Hainan Stars, which entered the Chinese Second League in the 2022 season, has built a completely young lineup, with an average age of only 19.5 years old, and the players come from Wuhan Three Towns (Yang Minjie, etc.), Zhejiang (Jin Haoxiang), Shanghai Port (Liu Xiaolong) and other Chinese Super League clubs. In that season, Hainan Star was successfully relegated. The average age of the Hainan Stars for the 2023 season is 20 years old, and they ended up finishing third out of the eight teams in the relegation group.
Another youth team is Hubei Youth Star, which is backed by the Xinghui Youth Academy of Hubei Football Association. Xinghui Youth Academy began to operate in 2005 and quickly became one of the outstanding youth clubs in Chinese football, with an average age of only 19.1 years old this season, and as many as 26 players in the first team squad were born in 2005 and 2006. At present, the 11 Chinese Super League teams competing in the U21 League, except for Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, the average age of the other teams is older than that of Hubei Youth Stars. In a match in the 11th round of the Chinese Second Division, the average starting age of Hubei Youth Stars was only 17.6 years old, and most of them were players born in the 2005 age group. is such a group of young players, their achievements in the second division are surprising: in the north of the second division, Hubei young stars 5 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses into the first group.
Another example is the Guangzhou team. The average age of the players in the Guangzhou team in the 2023 season is only 21 years old, and in the 35-man squad for the whole season, there are only 6 players over the age of 23, and as many as 29 players between the ages of 17 and 23, and the average age of their starting list is also about 21 years old. In the end, the Guangzhou team of the all-Chinese class succeeded in relegation in 4 rounds of the Chinese League ahead of schedule, and finally ranked 12th.
In the Champions League, in addition to a few Mesozoic players, most of the main players of Langfang Glory City are from the echelon players of China Fortune from 2003 to 2005, and the average age of the team is 21 years old, which is the lowest average age of the team in the Champions League this season. In the starting lineup of Langfang Glory City against Guangzhou Shadow Leopards, the average age of the five players in the back and forward line was only 19.2 years old. Langfang City of Glory finally won the championship with an undefeated record throughout the season.
Through the performance of Guangzhou (Evergrande Football School), Hubei Youth Star (Xinghui Youth Training), Hainan Star (youth training of many clubs based on Wuhan Three Towns) and Langfang Glory City (former Huaxia Happiness Echelon) in the Chinese League, at least 4 to 8 U21 echelons in the Chinese Super League have the strength to play in the Chinese Second League, and Shandong Taishan Echelon, which is equivalent to Evergrande Football School, also has the strength to compete in the Chinese League.
At present, the general view is that the Chinese Super League B team playing in the professional league has a positive significance for Chinese youth training, but there have always been voices of doubt, mainly reflected in several levels:
First, some people suggested that the Super League B team started from the Champions League, but in fact, considering the current performance of the Youth Army in the First Division, the Second and the Chinese Championship, the U21 and the second docking plan is basically in line with the youth training and the second and second championships, and the Champions League has as many as 4 teams entering the second division this season, and the purpose of the Football Association to maintain the Champions League club is still very clear.
Second, some Chinese Football Association clubs recognize the promotion role of the policy, but at the same time, they believe that the Chinese Football Association and the Chinese Second Club have little communication, and the decision-making lacks procedural legitimacy, which needs to be made up by the Football Association in the future, including the relevant policies of the Chinese Football Association in the future, and also need to be fully demonstrated with the club.
Third, since the league provides assistance for youth training, the second club also hopes that the football association can have more subsidies in terms of business development, including the establishment of "league special dividends", very simple, you increase the B team, at least the away expenses of the B team will increase, in fact, this money is easy to say, the important thing is to complete the procedure legally.
Fourth, the key point that deserves the attention of the Football Association is that the registration quota of the Super League B team should stipulate the proportion of the number of youth players in the club, such as 60%, 70% or 80% (compared with the "first signing right", it can be relaxed). After all, the significance of the Chinese Super League B team playing in the second division is to promote the youth training of professional clubs, not to create a new "miscellaneous army", and at the same time, it is necessary to stipulate that the players transferred from the B team should be regarded as professional players and need to pay training compensation.
In general, in the following period, the Chinese Football Association should fully communicate with the Chinese Super League, the Chinese Super League, and the Chinese Champions League clubs, improve this systematic plan as much as possible, and demonstrate it many times, so as to turn the original intention into a good thing and prevent loopholes from causing trouble.
The third tier of the 2023 season has all ended, and the theoretical list of the tier three league for the 2024 season has been basically determined. In the second league, two teams were eventually relegated, and the promoted teams were six, of which four are from the China Champions League, two are from the U21 league, and the second league in the 2024 season will be expanded to 20 teams.
As far as the 2024 season is concerned, if the Chinese Super League or the Chinese League B team plays in the Chinese League B, how will the relevant registration, promotion and relegation system be determined? Through the interview, we can give a general outlook.
About U21 policy In the future, the U21 team of the Chinese Super League or the Chinese League will become a B team after being promoted to the second division, and the club will no longer be forced to participate in the U21 league, and if it participates, it will not be able to continue to be promoted to the second division. If the first team is disbanded, Team B automatically disqualifies from the second team.
About the upgrade First of all, it is basically certain that the current docking between the U21 League and the Central League is a very cautious approach. In the initial proposal, there were more places for the promotion team, but after the Chinese Football Association synthesized the opinions of all parties, only two promotion places were finally given for the first time. The initial idea for the 2024 season is that there will still be two promotion places in the U21 League, and there will still be four promotion places in the Champions League, which means that the 2025 season of the Chinese Second League will most likely be expanded to 24 teams.
Regarding relegation In the 2024 season, if the two Chinese Super League U21 teams in the second division are normally relegated, then they can continue to play in the second league, but if they cannot be relegated normally and become one or two of the relegated teams, then the promotion places will be supplemented by the Chinese championship teams. The logic is: if it is naturally relegated, it means that the overall strength of the U21 team in the second league is not yet reached, and the supplement should be the Chinese championship team.
Of course, this situation is less likely, but it cannot be ruled out that the U21 team will suffer from problems with the parent team of the Chinese Super League and then have a poor record.
About registration In the future, after the U21 echelon of the Chinese Super League or the Chinese League is upgraded to the Chinese second, the Chinese Super League B team that theoretically plays in the second division becomes the U22 team, therefore, in terms of the registration age group, the B team that competes in the second division may have no restrictions in terms of players in the age group of 22 and below, and the probability is that there is no limit to the age of 23, which means that the 21-year-old players still have two years of opportunities after entering the second division. In fact, taking this season's U21 league as an example, most of the players are actually 18 to 20-year-old players, even if the U23 is the line, most of the players in the B team are expected to be 19 to 21-year-old players, and the Chinese Super League club also has to pay attention to the growth space of players.
A small number of overage players are allowed on Team B. The general recommendation is to tighten the limit for players between the ages of 24 and 25 to be limited to three, and those over the age of 25 are not allowed to play in the second division, so as to avoid causing a crackdown on the professional clubs of the second division.
On transfers Players from the Chinese Super League or the first team and their B teams can only move through the transfer window, and there are suggestions to add additional windows, but some believe that this will lead to instability in the hearts of the B team. Team B and teams such as U19 and U17 can share the roster, which means that eligible players from Team B can register for U19 or U17 teams to participate in relevant competitions at the same time, and vice versa.
At present, it is still a cautious exploratory approach for the Chinese Super League B team to play in the second team, in fact, the Chinese league B team can also be relegated, but if the first team of the Chinese league is relegated, the B team in the second division must also be relegated. According to the plan, there will be two Super League B teams in the 2024 season, with a proportion of 10%, and in the 2025 season, there will be four Super League B teams, with a proportion of about 16.7%, and in the future, the proportion of Super League B teams will be controlled below 25%.
If the Chinese Super League B team can gain a foothold in the second division, the size of the B team will be controlled at about 4 to 6 teams in three to five years, which is also to maintain the stability of the U21 league. In the future, the relevant policies will definitely need to be determined according to the development of professional leagues.
In terms of relegation, the U21 league and the B team in the second division are directly docked, if the 4 teams have a high probability of rising 1 and falling 1, if there is a high probability of 6 teams rising and falling 2, based on the total ranking of the B team in the second division, it is theoretically more cruel than the ordinary Chinese B team. The final solidification will take into account Team B's record in the Second Division or the U21 League.
Another possibility is that if the Super League B team gets a promotion place in the second division, they will not be promoted to the second division in the 2024 season. If Team B's record in China B continues to be strong, the possibility of allowing Team B to compete in China League B cannot be ruled out in the future, but this requires multiple prerequisites, one is that the league is healthier and more stable, and the other is that it needs to be widely discussed and carried out with more support.
In terms of European leagues, the highest league level that club B teams in the Bundesliga may add is the German Bundesliga (Germany's third division), which is not allowed to enter the Bundesliga, and in the 2022/2023 season, Freiburg B team won the second place in the German Bundesliga, but it is not allowed to be promoted; The same is true for Spain, where the highest division in which the B team currently competes is La B (Spain's second tier). However, the league system of European football often has more than 10 levels, and the second-level leagues are extremely high-quality leagues in the world, and the current level of the Chinese Super League cannot even reach the third level of Germany and Spain.
The same is true for the Portuguese professional league, where Portuguese Super League B can compete in the Portuguese second division, and currently Porto B and Benfica B are both in the Portuguese League, Porto B won the 2015/2016 season, and many Portuguese national team players and players from the top five leagues have come out of Porto B.
Of course, the Chinese Super League B team will definitely play in the Chinese League, everything depends on the development of the league and the performance of the B team.