On December 3, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) unveiled new financial regulations for professional football clubs, setting strict limits on total expenditures, player salaries, and bonus caps, along with corresponding penalties for violations.

For total annual expenditures, the CFA stipulated that Chinese Super League (CSL) clubs cannot exceed 600 million yuan (pre-tax), China League One (second tier) clubs are capped at 200 million yuan, and China League Two (third tier) clubs must stay under 50 million yuan. These limits include youth academy and women's team expenses but exclude infrastructure costs like stadiums and training bases. Clubs relegated to lower divisions may exceed the new tier's spending cap in their first year, but not beyond their previous year's actual expenditure.

Regarding player salaries, CSL domestic players face an individual salary cap of 5 million yuan (pre-tax), while League One and League Two players are limited to 3 million yuan and 1.2 million yuan respectively. Foreign players in the CSL cannot earn more than 3 million euros (pre-tax) individually, with League One foreign players capped at 1.5 million euros. The total foreign player salary pool is restricted to 10 million euros for CSL clubs and 4 million euros for League One clubs. Average domestic player salaries are capped at 3 million yuan (CSL), 1.5 million yuan (League One), and 500,000 yuan (League Two).

Match bonus limits were also established: CSL wins cannot exceed 3 million yuan (pre-tax) per game, with draws capped at 1 million yuan. AFC Champions League bonuses are set at 6 million yuan for wins and 2 million yuan for draws. League One and Chinese FA Cup matches have win/draw limits of 1 million/300,000 yuan, while League Two and FA Cup matches are restricted to 300,000/100,000 yuan. Annual discretionary bonuses are limited to 10 million yuan (CSL), 6 million yuan (League One), and 3 million yuan (League Two).

The CFA introduced a tiered penalty system for violations: Clubs exceeding total expenditure limits by ≤20% will be docked 6 league points, with 12 points deducted for 20-40% overages (capped at 24 points). Salary cap violations will result in 9-point deductions per offense (domestic or foreign player pools), with cumulative penalties for multiple breaches. Clubs paying improper bonuses will lose 3 points per violation.

For individual salary violations, players exceeding caps or failing to register standard contracts will be barred from CFA competitions. Clubs using "shadow contracts" or deliberately concealing payments will be stripped of current season results and relegated, while involved players face 24-month suspensions. Players failing to declare additional income may be fined 1-5 times the undisclosed amount, with possible suspensions for severe cases.