Summary

The Chinese Football Super League (Chinese: 中国足球超级联赛; pinyin: Zhōngguó Zúqiú Chāojí Liánsài), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (Chinese: 中超; pinyin: Zhōngchāo), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in China and the highest level of the Chinese football league system. Governed by the Chinese Football Association and operated by the Chinese Professional Football League (CFL), the league was established in 2004 by the rebranding of the former top division, Chinese Jia-A League.

Initially contested by 12 teams in its inaugural year, the league has since expanded, with 16 teams competing in the 2025 season. A total of 40 teams have competed in the CSL since its inception, with 9 of them winning the title: Guangzhou (eight), Shandong Taishan (four), Shanghai Port (three), Shenzhen, Dalian Shide, Changchun Yatai, Beijing Guoan, Jiangsu, and Wuhan Three Towns (one title each). The current Super League champions are Shanghai Port, who won the 2024 edition.

The Chinese Super League is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in China, with an average attendance of 24,107 for league matches in the 2018 season. This was the twelfth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the sixth-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind the Bundesliga, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Liga MX.

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