FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - EAFF E-1 Women's Football Championship - China v Taiwan - Toyota Stadium, Toyota, Japan - July 20, 2022. Chinese players celebrate after the match. REUTERS/Issei Kato
(Reuters) - Chinese Super League clubs will be required to have a women's team as part of entry requirements to compete in the upcoming 2023 season, the country's soccer governing body (CFA) said on Thursday.
The CFA previously implemented a similar rule for the 2019 season, when 16 teams competed in the CSL. A start date for this year's 18-team top flight is yet to be announced.
"This women's team should take part in the Chinese Women's Super League or the second and third-tier league," Xinhua news agency reported, citing a notice from the CFA.
Wuhan Three Towns were crowned CSL champions for the first time last year.
The CFA said last week that all matches in the league will be played using the home-and-away format this year, bringing an end to three seasons of COVID-19 restrictions.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)
