Football in China includes the practice of American football, arena football, association football, paper football, and other "football"-termed sports in the territory of the People's Republic of China that does not include Hong Kong and Macau. American football History Ancient The Chinese game of cuju is one of the origins of football itself. Historical mentions date to the Warring States period (475–221 BC), and one manuscript places it in the time of the mythological Yellow Emperor (3rd millennium BC). Modern The Chinese Football Association Super League (referred to as "Chinese Super League" or "Chinese Super League") is the highest-level professional football league in mainland China (Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan have football associations and leagues directly under FIFA and AFC). Its lower leagues are the Chinese Football Association League A, the Chinese Football Association League B, and the Chinese Football Association Member Association Champions League. The Chinese Super League started in 2004 and was formerly known as the Chinese Football League A, established in 1989. It is organized by the Chinese Football Association and operated by the Chinese Super League Co., Ltd. It is one of the most competitive football leagues in Asia with the highest average attendance rate. The champion will receive the Vulcan Cup. According to the latest ranking of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics in 2017, the Chinese Super League ranks 36th in the world and 3rd in the Asian League. Since 2006, the number of participating clubs in the Chinese Super League has been stable at 16; on December 29, 2020, the Chinese Football Association confirmed that the Chinese Super League will expand to 18 teams in the 2022 season. The policy of “up 3 down 3” will be implemented in the 2022 season. On July 6, 2022, the Chinese Football Association held a meeting to confirm that the Chinese Super League will resume home and away games from the 11th round (second stage) on August 5, 2022. On October 14th, the "restart" time of the Chinese Super League was finally confirmed. The Chinese Super League officially announced the 19th round, the 20th round of supplementary matches and the 23rd-25th rounds. Association football The Chinese Super League (CSL; ) is the highest tier of professional association football in Mainland China, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The Super League was created by the re-branding of the former top division,