A Rare Scenario in Chinese Football: Guangdong Teams Could See Two Promotions and Two Relegations in China League One

Recently, Chinese football has seen what is described as a century-rare situation, which can be clearly understood by simply looking at the China League One standings after this round of matches. Guangzhou Leopard and Shenzhen Youth are steadily moving toward promotion, while Meizhou Hakka and Foshan Nanshi have continued to fall behind amid a downward trend. This gives Guangdong football a chance to achieve the uncommon scenario of two promotions and two relegations in China League One. In the near future, Guangdong could change from the province with the most China League One teams to having no Guangdong teams participating next year. The following points are worth discussing.

First, Guangdong Guangzhou Leopard have accumulated 50 points and are 14 points ahead of third place, meaning they have almost secured a promotion spot. Next year, the Chinese Super League may welcome a Guangzhou team again after a five-year absence. Meanwhile, with a professional football stadium capable of holding 73,000 spectators currently under construction, Guangdong Guangzhou Leopard could potentially have a large-scale CSL home venue, carrying expectations for the revival of Guangzhou football.

Second, Shenzhen Youth have also shown strong promotion prospects. After recently defeating Meizhou Hakka 5-1, Shenzhen Youth have achieved three consecutive wins and extended their unbeaten run to six matches. They have won five of their last six games and hold a six-point lead over the teams behind them. After Almazan, the head coach of the U16 national youth team, took over, Shenzhen Youth quickly rose and became a leading promotion contender. It is worth noting that Shenzhen Youth finished third from bottom last year and narrowly avoided relegation, but they could now potentially face Shenzhen Peng City in a notable CSL derby, showing an impressive pace of development.

Finally, the most regrettable case is Meizhou Hakka. In their last four matches, the team has lost three times, including two heavy 1-5 defeats, and they are now nine points behind third-from-bottom Nanjing City. Meizhou Hakka, who previously competed in the Chinese Super League, now face the possibility of relegation to China League Two, with the former strong side facing the risk of consecutive relegations.

In this year's China League One season, Guangdong and Jiangsu each have four teams participating, making them the provinces with the most teams in the competition. However, after the challenges of this season, there may be no Guangdong teams appearing in China League One in the near future, which is one of the notable developments in Chinese football this year.