2024-2025 season of the restructured Asian Champions Elite league kicked off this week. Journalist Madexing summarized the first round of matches, suggesting that the Chinese Super League teams may not have lost their competitiveness.

When the new Asian Champions Elite league began, few domestic fans would have expected much from the three Chinese Super League teams. However, after the first round of matches, the performance of the Chinese Super League teams was somewhat surprising. Shandong Luneng defeated Central Coast Mariners 3-1, Shanghai Shenhua came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Pohang Steelers 4-1, and Shanghai SIPG, the leading team in the Chinese Super League, unfortunately drew 2-2 with Johor Darul Ta'zim.

With two wins, one draw, and a total of 7 points, the three Chinese Super League teams had the best performance among the participating member associations in the East Asia region. The Korean teams had one win and two losses, while the Japanese teams had one win, one draw, and one loss. Looking at the whole of Asia, even the "big spenders" from Saudi Arabia had only two wins and one draw. Such results are not only acceptable but even satisfying. Because of this, the journalist suggested that "the new Asian Champions Elite league has at least restored some confidence to the Chinese Super League," which is not an overstatement. All parties involved need to re-evaluate the significance and value of the Chinese Super League and the Asian Champions Elite league.

The biggest attraction of the new Asian Champions Elite league is undoubtedly the Asian Football Confederation's comprehensive relaxation of foreign player policies. In the East Asia region, Johor Darul Ta'zim deployed 9 foreign players as starters in their away match against Shanghai SIPG, while only one Malaysian player, No. 42 Ah Ming, who scored twice, was a local player. In addition to Johor Darul Ta'zim, Muangthong United also had seven foreign players starting in their home match against Vissel Kobe. To some extent, the presence of more foreign players helped Southeast Asian clubs secure 2 points in the first round of the Elite league.

In the West Asia region, Al Nassr, in their away match against Al Rayyan, also deployed 9 foreign players, with only two Saudi Arabian national team players, No. 10 Dossary and No. 97 center-back Tanbakhti, in the starting lineup. Al Rayyan, on the other hand, started with 10 foreign players, but in the end, they couldn't avoid a 1-3 defeat at home.

However, in comparison, it seems that South Korea and Japan have not been affected by the relaxation of foreign player policies. Among the three Japanese teams, Vissel Kobe played with a full Japanese lineup in their away match, Kawasaki Frontale and Yokohama F. Marinos both started with only one foreign player. All three South Korean teams started with only one foreign player. In other words, South Korean and Japanese teams use the Elite league as an opportunity for their local players to improve their skills. In contrast, Chinese Super League teams value the Asian Champions Elite league, but in turn, their local players lose the opportunity to improve through such competitions.

Under the circumstances of the Asian Football Confederation's comprehensive relaxation of foreign player policies, should the Chinese Super League further liberalize its foreign player policy or maintain the status quo and improve its competitiveness through other means? This requires further research. However, in the face of various changes, the Chinese Super League and Chinese football need to conduct a comprehensive evaluation in order to choose the most favorable channels and methods for the development of Chinese football itself.