China's second-tier football league to start in September

BEIJING -- The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on Wednesday that the postponed 2020 China League One season, originally scheduled to begin in February, will start on September 12.

Chengdu, Meizhou and Changzhou have been selected as the three cities to host the first phase of the season from September 12 to October 15.

The second division league will be contested behind closed doors. The 18 teams will be divided into three groups, which will follow the traditional home-away round robin format. The top two teams in each group will move into Final A to decide the promotion spots, and the bottom four will fall into Final B to fight against relegation to the third tier.

According to the CFA, the second phase of the season that includes Final A and Final B will begin on October 24.

"Epidemic prevention measures are the paramount issue to start our second division league. We will try our best to make it safe, organized and excellent," said CFA president Chen Xuyuan.

The top flight Chinese Super League began on July 25, while the Chinese Women's Super League resumed last Sunday.