The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is capping salaries for its players.
Set to go in effect at the season start in December, the salary cap for the CFA China League and CFA China League Two will be 5 million yuan (US$710,000) and 3 million yuan (US$416,000), according to a recent notice released by the association. The Chinese Super League (CSL) salary cap remains at 10 million yuan (US$1.42m).
The CFA also stipulated that once a case of dual contract emerges, the offending club would lose 3 league points.
While some say the move answers criticism from Chinese football fans over the underwhelming performance of men’s soccer, an editorial from the newspaper Southern Urban Daily blamed a price bubble with the industry.
The soccer market in China is growing ever larger, but talented players are in short supply. Combined with capital inflow, these market forces drive up player salaries, the editorial read.
High salaries, however, are not conducive to Chinese soccer’s development. Players are not incentivized to join international leagues and hone their skills, when they can easily earn a handsome income at home.
Also, the association aims to facilitate healthy development of the entire industry.
In recent years, CSL clubs went on a spending spree to sign football stars. The league also lost more than $700 million in 2017 for overspending on football stars, reported Chinese newspaper Global Times. While rich clubs can afford the high salaries, smaller clubs have limited financial resources, he noted, adding that the NBA also adopts a salary cap system to protect smaller clubs.
The CFA also pointed out that the salary reduction is about promoting youth training. Without a salary cap system, a promising player nurtured by one club could be lured away by another.
The editorial also criticized the move as being too administration-centric. League clubs should have a say in how the league develops, including salary cap systems, it suggested.