Chinese Super League

The Chinese Football Association Super League (Chinese: 中国足球协会超级联赛; Pinyin: Zhōngguó Zúqiú Xiéhuì Chāojí Liánsài; usually called Chinese Super League (中超联赛) or CSL; and known as Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest tier of professional association football in China. It is controlled by the Chinese Football Association.

Chinese Super League

Founded	2004
Country	China
Level on pyramid	1
Most championships	Guangzhou Evergrande (5 titles)
Website	csl.lesports.com

The league was created in 2004 and replaced the Chinese Football Association Jia-A League.

Currently, 16 teams play in the league. The Chinese Super League has been won by 7 teams: Shanghai Shenhua, Shenzhen Jianlibao, Dalian Shide, Shandong Luneng, Changchun Yatai, Beijing Guoan, and Guangzhou Evergrande.

2016 clubs

Beijing Guoan Changchun Yatai Chongqing Lifan Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou R&F Hangzhou Greentown Hebei CFFC Henan Jianye

Jiangsu Suning Liaoning Whowin Shandong Luneng Shanghai Greenland Shanghai SIPG Shijiazhuang Ever Bright Tianjin Teda Yanbian Funde

History

In 1994, the Chinese Jia-A League became the country's first professional football league. People in the Chinese Football Association began to talk about creating a new league in late-2000. In 2002, the CFA made a decision to establish the Chinese Super League, which started in 2004.

Results and statistics

Champions

The following table shows who won the league and when.

Club	Champions	Runners-up	Winning Seasons	Runners-up Seasons
Guangzhou Evergrande	5	0	2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Shandong Luneng	3	2	2006, 2008, 2010	2004, 2013
Beijing Guoan	1	3	2009	2007, 2011, 2014
Changchun Yatai	1	1	2007	2009
Dalian Shide	1	0	2005
Shenzhen	1	0	2004
Shanghai Greenland	0	3		2005, 2006, 2008
Shanghai SIPG	0	1		2015
Jiangsu Suning	0	1		2012
Tianjin Teda	0	1		2010

Top scorers

Season	Top scorer	Club	Goals
2004	Kwame Ayew	Inter Shanghai	17
2005	Branko Jelić	Beijing Guoan	21
2006	Li Jinyu	Shandong Luneng	26
2007	Li Jinyu	Shandong Luneng	15
2008	Éber Luís	Tianjin Teda	14
2009	Hernán Barcos Luis Ramírez	Shenzhen Asia Travel / Shanghai Shenhua Guangzhou GPC	17
2010	Duvier Riascos	Shanghai Shenhua	20
2011	Muriqui	Guangzhou Evergrande	16
2012	Cristian Dănălache	Jiangsu Sainty	23
2013	Elkeson	Guangzhou Evergrande	24
2014	Elkeson	Guangzhou Evergrande	28
2015	Aloísio	Shandong Luneng Taishan	22

Other websites

• Official site of the Chinese Super League Archived 2016-11-04 at the Wayback Machine (in Chinese)
• Official site of the Chinese Football Association (in Chinese)
• RSSSF.com - China - List of Champions
• English site about the CSL