The Chinese Super League's switch to a cross-year format is an inevitable trend; do not abandon it because of difficulties

Eating too quickly can cause choking, and drinking water too quickly can make you cough. We cannot therefore stop eating and drinking forever. Food still needs to be eaten and water still needs to be drunk; we just need to remember not to rush and take things slowly. The same applies to the Chinese Super League adopting a cross-year format. We should not immediately jump out to oppose it and list numerous reasons at length as soon as we hear about it. These "arguments" sound reasonable at first, but after careful analysis, they are all examples of abandoning something important because of a potential difficulty.

After learning that the China Football Association's professional football league organization had initially drafted a feasibility assessment plan for a Chinese Super League cross-year format, Transfermarkt administrator Zhu Yi recently publicly opposed Chinese leagues switching to a cross-year system and listed six reasons to argue that "current conditions are not yet mature" (as shown above). Personally, I think Zhu Yi's move was unnecessary. Fans already know that the conditions for the Chinese Super League to adopt a cross-year format are not yet mature, so how could the league organization not know? They only released a "feasibility assessment plan," which means they are researching and creating a timetable to gradually achieve this goal, not saying that it must be implemented next year or the year after. Opposing it without seeing the draft plan seems somewhat like opposing it simply for the sake of opposition.

Besides, what exactly counts as "mature conditions"? Zhu Yi himself cannot say what conditions would qualify as mature. If even influential commentators are unclear, ordinary fans have even less certainty. Saying that "conditions are not mature" without knowing what would make them mature is effectively saying nothing, leaving the matter indefinitely delayed or causing it to fail before it begins.

A simple question: Were the conditions for the J.League completely mature? Were the conditions for the K League 100% mature as well?

It is not about whether it can be done, but whether people want to do it.

If every club only considers its own interests, and every fan only thinks about personal benefits, with everyone acting separately and only protecting their own territory, the cross-year format will never be achieved. The six reasons put forward by Zhu Yi may appear reasonable, but they do not stand up to scrutiny.

Zhu Yi believes that the cross-year format "does not fit the current national conditions."

Zhu Yi raised a key point: Northeast China and Xinjiang are too cold. Without building enclosed stadiums with suitable climate control and geothermal systems, discussing a cross-year format would be unrealistic. This point appears reasonable, but it is not impossible to solve.

Under the calendar-year format, the Chinese Super League runs from March to December for a total of nine months, perfectly avoiding the coldest January and February period. If it changes to a cross-year format, why could it not also avoid January and February? It could, which would effectively become a winter break. A normal cross-year league schedule could be adjusted to July-December and March-June, totaling eight months, with one month of rest after the league ends.

Such an arrangement would not require enclosed stadiums with climate control and geothermal systems. The only difference is that the match schedule would be slightly denser than under a calendar-year format. This is also something that can be adapted to.

Those with money have ways to operate with money, and those without money have ways to operate without it. There is no need for everyone to build climate-controlled enclosed geothermal stadiums like Qatar; a cross-year format can still work.

As long as the schedule for the cross-year format is resolved and there are no objections, other issues will naturally be solved and do not need to be a major concern.

Zhu Yi's other viewpoints are also self-evident. For example, this cross-year format would certainly have to apply to all domestic professional leagues; it is impossible for only the Chinese Super League to adopt it while others do not. The cross-year format is not only about aligning with the AFC Champions League. Discussions about how the Chinese Super League could adopt a cross-year format existed even before the AFC Champions League switched formats, so the goal is not merely to align with the AFC Champions League but to align with the mainstream of world football, although the need is now more urgent.

Some people say that a cross-year format would sacrifice the interests of teams and fans in Northeast China. But if the format is not changed, it means the interests of teams participating in the AFC Champions League are being sacrificed instead. This shows that regardless of whether changes are made, some teams' interests will be affected. Prioritizing the bigger picture and adding a winter break after the switch would minimize the losses for Northeast teams while genuinely reducing the losses for teams participating in the AFC Champions League.

We do not need everyone to only protect their own interests. If nobody is willing to sacrifice even a small amount of their own interests, the cross-year format will never happen. The adoption of a cross-year format for the Chinese Super League and other domestic professional leagues is an inevitable trend; Chinese football cannot become an isolated part of world football.

If this cannot work and that cannot work, we must not abandon the effort because of difficulties. This is not a question of whether it can be done, but whether people want to do it.