Economic reality casts uncertain future for Chinese Super League

Most of the 16 teams in China’s top tiers are backed financially by property developers meaning that the downturn in China’s real estate market has had on-field consequences.

Fans cheer for their team during the Chinese Super League (CSL) football match between Guangzhou FC and Guangzhou City in Guangzhou  (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The news last February that defending Chinese Super League champion Jiangsu FC was ceasing operations set the tone for a depressing year for soccer in the world’s most populous country.

It wasn’t a memorable campaign as China Daily, an English-language publication owned by the Chinese Communist Party, wrote on Dec. 29.