China: Clubs Ranked - 1987 to 2023

Football has history here but it was in 1987 that a semi professional Jia-A League started. It went fully pro in 1994 and then was named the Super League in 2004.

To the right is a list of the top clubs since 1987. Chn is points awarded in China and Tot when adding Asia. 

Points are earned in the first division league 6,3,2 and 1. The FA Cup 4 and 2 for the finalists. Success in the Asia Club Championship 8,4 and 2. 

The top Super League /  Jia-A League clubs are listed the the left. The points are close as clubs were formed and disbanded so few have a long history to get a lead on the others. 

Recent winners are Jiangsu FC in 2020,  Shandong Taishan 2021, Wuhan Three Towns 2022 and Shanghai Port FC in 2023. 

The FA Cup started in 1995 and wasn't held between 2007 and 2010 so that's 25 times held. Shandong Taishan has been clearly the most successful. It won the cup three times from 2020 to 2022 but lost the final to Shanghai Shenhua in 2023.

The Asia Club Championship has been quite successful for Clubs in China. Between them they have won it three times, twice losing finalists and nine times semi finalists. 

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. Any suggestions? Please leave a comment. 

Football in China hasn't been without incident. A major problem is often linked to payoffs to players and match officials to benefit gambling syndicates. In 2003, there was no winner of the league competition when the top side was stripped of its title. Hopefully, it has been stamped out thanks to strict action taken against those caught. 

I don't know much about regions in China but the clubs listed are divided into East which took 239 points (37.8%), North East (25.6%), South Central (19.9%), North (15.0%) and South West (1.6%). 

The clubs with a + after their name are no longer active, fourteen in all! Some without that symbol have not been active through the full period since 1987. The East looks to be the dominant area in the immediate future.