Football in China

A version of football called "cuju" was already practiced more than 2300 years ago in the city of Lin Zi as a military sport that served to train the troops and check the physical condition of the soldiers.

It is a competitive game involving kicking the ball through a large opening and into a net, and just like modern-day American football, hands can be used when playing Cuju.

The other type of exhibition was more for entertainment, which even had live music in the background and female players were allowed, with its main purpose was to demonstrate technique and dexterity.

The first recorded references to cuju in Chinese literature dates back to the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

The Han dynasty brought wealth and cultural sophistication to China and allowed for cuju to flourish.

Despite its brief disappearance, the sport was revived during the Tang dynasty (618-907) where it was no longer restricted to nobility, but instead became a part of folk tradition and played at Chinese festivals.

The first Ming ruler even banned cuju altogether because it was believed to be a distraction from work and military training.

The league has witnessed match-fixing, illegal betting, and violence on and off the pitch[7][8] which the government of the People's Republic of China has promised to fix.

[9] Two former top executives of the Football Association of China were arrested and prosecuted for taking bribes.

Since 1996, CCTV-5 has had weekly programmes televising live games in the Italian Serie A and German Bundesliga to Football Night (足球之夜).

The program covers marketing, development, training, sports medicine, competitions, media, and fans.

[17] In that year, Beijing Guoan, Guangzhou Evergrande and Shandong Luneng Taishan were the only Chinese sports clubs with at least 5 million followers on Weibo.

After all the competitions of the Chinese Super League in the current year are completed, the player with the most points will rank first.

Teams with equal points that have the most goal difference in all competitions of the Chinese Super League in that year will rank first; 6.

The team with equal points that scored the most goals in all the competitions of the Chinese Super League in that year will be ranked first; 7.