On the evening of September 15th, Beijing time, last season’s Chinese Super League champion Shanghai Haigang and Football Association Cup champion Beijing Guoan will usher in the first game of the AFC Champions League Elite League this season, while league runner-up Shanghai Shenhua will also usher in the first game of the AFC Champions League Second League on Thursday. After experiencing a dismal performance in the AFC Champions League in the past season, the participating teams in the Chinese Super League and AFC Champions League have expressed their desire to rebound. The changes in the internal and external environment have indeed provided a certain foundation for the Chinese Super League team to turn around.
AFC technical points urgently need to be defended
According to the latest statistics, as of August 2026, the total technical points of the Chinese Super League and AFC are 38.342 points, ranking 11th in Asia and 6th in East Asia. This data has been surpassed by the Malaysian League (40.809 points) and the Australian League (43.855 points). Even the scores of Singapore and Vietnam behind them are also closely chasing. If you are not careful, you may be further overtaken.
In fact, in May 2026, in the final technical points ranking announced by the AFC, the Chinese Super League ranked eighth in Asia and fourth in East Asia with 49.483 points, behind Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. With this ranking, the Chinese Super League has locked two direct seats in the AFC Champions League Elite League and one direct seat in the AFC Champions League Secondary League for the 2027-2028 season.
However, starting from the 2026-2027 season, the technical points ranking statistical period will be adjusted to be calculated from the 2018 season, and the results of the 2017 season will no longer be included. This adjustment had a huge impact on the Chinese Super League – in the 2017 season, the three participating Chinese Super League teams Jiangsu, Shanghai Haigang and Guangzhou all qualified from the group and entered the knockout rounds. Haigang and Guangzhou both reached the quarterfinals, and Haigang even reached the East Asia finals. That season, the Chinese Super League scored the highest technical points in Asia and topped the Asian standings, contributing 24.567 points.
In the last five or six seasons, the results of the Chinese Super League teams in the AFC Champions League can be said to be very dismal. Taking the two seasons after the AFC Champions League restructuring as an example-in the 2025-2026 season, the three participating teams in the AFC Champions League Elite League (Shanghai Hainan) Hong Kong, Shanghai Shenhua and Chengdu Chengdu) ranked third from last, with a poor total score of 2 wins, 8 draws and 14 losses in 24 games; Beijing Guoan, which participated in the AFC Champions League second-level group stage, had 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses in six group stage games, scored 5 points and was eliminated at the bottom of the group stage…
In the 2024-2025 season, Shandong Taishan had an abandonment incident that resulted in the loss of all games. Shenhua and Haigang ranked seventh and eighth respectively and barely qualified for the knockout rounds. However, Haigang was double-played by Yokohama in two rounds. Shenhua won 1-1 and Kawasaki was eliminated with a total score of 1-4. The Zhejiang team participated in the second-level AFC Champions League, scoring 9 points with 3 wins and 3 losses, ranking third in the group and unfortunately eliminated.
The decline in performance means a reduction in the number of seats in the AFC Champions League. In the past two seasons, the Chinese Super League has had three teams participating in the AFC Champions League Elite League and one team participating in the second-tier league. This season, the number of participating teams in the Elite League has been reduced by one seat. If technical points continue to decline in the future, the quota for the AFC Champions League in the Chinese Super League may be further reduced.
A special season may benefit the AFC Champions League
As the AFC Champions League changes to a multi-year format, a big impact on the Chinese Super League teams is that the start of the AFC Champions League in September is the sprint stage of the Chinese Super League. The participating teams in the AFC Champions League are often the teams competing for the league championship. Therefore, in the past two seasons, Haigang and Shenhua have not been able to invest 100% in the AFC Champions League. Last season, Chengdu also performed lineup rotations in some AFC Champions League games. Entering the post-Jinyuan era, the lack of big-name foreign aid itself has caused a significant decline in the overall strength of the Chinese Super League teams. Coupled with the strategic trade-offs, this is a very important reason for the decline in AFC Champions League results.
Such embarrassment, at least this season, will not occur. Haigang, Guoan and Shenhua all experienced point deductions at the beginning of the season and lost hope of competing for the league championship early. The three teams have also completed relegation, so the Chinese Super League teams can devote more attention to the AFC Champions League stage. In the past two years, there have been many scenes where the league has all the main players and the AFC Champions League rotates the lineup. This season, the situation is exactly the opposite. The Chinese Super League team can rotate the lineup in the league and use the entire main force in the AFC Champions League.
Another important part of the AFC Champions League restructuring is to no longer limit the number of foreign players. This is a policy tailor-made for the tycoons in West Asia. However, in East Asia, Thai and Malaysian teams have also benefited. The number of foreign players in the registration lists of teams represented by Buriram and Johor is as high as double digits. The reason why the Southeast Asian League can rise rapidly in terms of technical points is largely due to the addition of an all-foreign player lineup to the team’s strength.
Previously, Chinese Super League teams were only allowed to register up to 6 foreign players to participate in the AFC Champions League. Each team usually registered five foreign players (excluding players from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, only 6 foreign players were registered in the 2023-2024 season). In the summer window of this season, the Chinese Football Association specifically changed the foreign aid policy to allow players to participate in the AFC Champions League. The team registers two additional foreign players exclusive to the AFC Champions League. In this way, the Chinese Super League team can also register 7 foreign players to participate in the AFC Champions League, plus naturalized players. Although it is difficult to arrange all foreign players in the starting lineup like Southeast Asian teams, at least the disadvantage of the Chinese Super League team in the number of foreign players has been largely compensated.
The two participating teams in the AFC Champions League Elite League, Haigang and Guoan, have filled up two exclusive foreign aid quotas, doing their best to enhance the team’s immediate combat effectiveness in the AFC Champions League. It is a bit of a pity that Shenhua, which participated in the second-tier league, not only failed to sign a dedicated foreign aid, but instead allowed foreign aid forward Mineiro to leave the team and return to his old club.
Correct attitude and strive for breakthroughs
The draw of the AFC Champions League Elite League this season has also been somewhat helpful in improving the performance of Chinese Super League teams. According to the rules, Chinese Super League teams will not meet J-League teams in the group stage. In the past, Chinese Super League teams generally performed poorly against J-League teams. The current rules are obviously beneficial to Chinese Super League teams. Of course, if you want to improve your performance in the AFC Champions League, the most important thing is to correct your attitude first.
“It is an honor for our club to be able to participate in the AFC Champions League Elite League again this season. For the new season, it is very important to get a good start. If we can start the entire tournament with points, it will be a very good situation for the team’s subsequent games and confidence building.”
According to the schedule, Harbor will be a guest to challenge the Thai Super League team Ratchaburi House at 6 pm on the 15th. Coach Muscat hopes that the team can win the game. “We also know that the opponent has just ended the pre-season preparation period. The preparations of both sides are different. We are in the middle of the season.” During the mid-term, the entire preparation was very good. We came to the away game with confidence, hoping to show our style of play and perform well. We know that the away game not only represents the Harbor Club, but also represents the image of the Chinese club, and we will go all out to give a wonderful performance.”
Beijing Guoan will face the K-League team Pohang Steelers at home later that day. Head coach Montgomery also said that we hope to represent Beijing and China in the AFC Champions League. “This is the beginning of the eight games in the AFC Champions League. I hope we can have a good start at home like Xizhe said. Like other teams, we still have seven games to play, and every time we have to focus on the current game. We respect our opponents very much, they are very experienced in the AFC Champions League, and we will go all out.”
