This undated photo shows the logo of the Chinese Football Association. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - The number of teams participating in the Chinese Super League (CSL) will increase from 16 to 18 from 2023, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced here on Friday.

The CFA also revealed further details about a CSL-wide salary cap to be implemented from 2021

By 2023, the CSL and the second-tier League One will expand to 18 and 20 teams respectively. At the same time, the third division will grow to feature around 30 sides. To promote the development of women's football, establishing a professional women's football team will be one of the access conditions for CSL clubs in 2021.

The CFA also revealed further details about a CSL-wide salary cap to be implemented from 2021. For each CSL club, an overseas player's annual pre-tax income should be no more than US$3.67 million from 2021. The total yearly pre-tax expenditure limit for overseas player salaries is 12 million dollars. Meanwhile, the maximum wage for a domestic player is five million yuan (US$764,200) per year before tax.

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By 2021, the annual operating expenses of CSL clubs should not exceed 600 million yuan (US$92 million), while costs of second- and third-tier clubs are not to exceed 200 million yuan (US$31 million) and 50 million yuan (US$7.6 million) respectively.

Professional clubs at all levels are also required to remove corporate sponsors from their names before the 2021 season. If these alterations are not completed, the CFA will cancel the club's registration.