The 1994

Chinese Jia-A League The National Football Jia A League (simplified Chinese, commonly known as Jia-A, was the highest tier of professional football in the People's Republic of China, during 1994 through 2003, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Associ ...

season is the inaugural season of

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and the 33rd top-tier overall league season held in China. The league was expanded to twelve teams and started on April 17, 1994 and ended on November 13 with

Dalian Wanda Wanda Group (), or the Dalian Wanda Group (), is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in Dalian, Liaoning and headquartered in Beijing. It is a private property developer and owner of Wanda Cinemas and the Hoyts Group. With inve ...

winning the championship.

Overview

By the start of the 1994 league season the

Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's ...

had been demanding full professionalism since 1992, this meant that private businesses were allowed to own or sponsor football clubs for the first time. The Chinese FA would also sell the television rights to

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

for 450,000 Yuan and gain sponsorship for the league from

Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Marl ...

. Clubs were awarded with a 700,000 Yuan season appearance fee which saw the average monthly players wages jump up significantly from 100

Dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...

to 2000 Dollars. With better wages clubs could now transfer professional foreign players except for Bayi who because they're part of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

had to have active military members. The league was also expanded to twelve teams compared to eight from the previous season, while the four teams promoted came from the 1992 Chinese Jia-A League league season because there was no promotion or relegation held in the 1993 Chinese Jia-A League league season. By the end of the season

won their first ever championship while Shenyang Liuyao and Jiangsu Maint were relegated at the end of the season.China League 1994
at rsssf.com

Name changes

With clubs now professional units they were allowed to gain sponsorship and would often change the clubs names to accommodate the sponsor. Below is a list of the dates on when the clubs officially became professional as well as when they gained their first sponsor and changed their name to accommodate this. *Dalian football club was reorganized as a professional unit on ( July 3, 1992 ), and renamed Dalian Haichang, Dalian Wanda Football Club on March 8, 1994. *Guangdong Province football team football club was reorganized as a professional unit on ( September 15, 1992 ) and renamed Guangdong Hongyuan F.C., Guangdong Hongyuan Football Club. *Beijing football team was reorganized as a professional unit on ( December 31, 1992 ) and renamed Beijing Guoan F.C., Beijing Guoan Football Club. *Guangzhou City football team was reorganized as a professional unit on ( January 8, 1993 ) and renamed Guangzhou Apollo, Guangzhou Apollo Football Club. *Sichuan Province football team was reorganized as a professional unit on ( November 8, 1993 ) and renamed Sichuan Quanxing, Sichuan Quanxing Football Club. *Shandong Province football team was reorganized as a professional unit on ( December 2, 1993 ) and renamed Shandong Taishan, Shandong Taishan Football Club on January 29, 1994. *Shanghai football team was reorganized as a professional unit on ( December 10, 1993 ) and renamed Shanghai Shenhua, Shanghai Shenhua Football Club. *Liaoning Province football team was reorganized as a professional unit on ( February 26, 1994 ) and renamed Liaoning Whowin F.C., Liaoning Yuandong *Jiangsu Province football team was reorganized as a professional unit on ( March 28, 1994 ) and renamed Jiangsu Maint *Jilin Province football team was reorganized as a professional unit in ( 1994 ) and renamed Jilin Samsung, Jilin Samsung Football Club *Shenyang City football team was reorganized as a professional unit at the end of ( 1995 ) and renamed Shenyang Liuyao, Shenyang Liuyao Football Club.

Managerial changes

League standings

Top scorers

References

External links

China - List of final tables (RSSSF)
at Zuqiuziliao.cn {{Chinese Jia-A League seasons Chinese Jia-A League seasons 1994 in Chinese football, 1 1994–95 in Asian association football leagues, China 1993–94 in Asian association football leagues, China