More teams should be absorbed into China’s football leagues with the aim of fostering talent and upgrading the level of the national teams, said Zhang Jindong, the owner of Chinese Super League giant Jiangsu Suning, here on Monday.
Zhang is the founder and currently the largest shareholder of the Suning Commerce Group, an electronic retailing giant in China. He is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Zhang said that the Chinese Super League, China’s top-flight football league, should expand from 16 to 18 or 20 teams.
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The Chinese League One, the country’s second-tier league, also with 16 teams at present, should augment with four to six teams, and the League Two from 24 to 40 teams, Zhang said.
He also called for upgrading China’s University Football League (CUFL) to forge a pyramid of football leagues.
In addition, Zhang called for the enhancement of football youth training and the enlargement of the football-playing population.
