Guangzhou Evergrande sign Robinho to along with Elkeson, Paulinho and Ricardo Goulart. Absolutely smashing the transfer market.

Wow, they really love signing the Brazilian players! A wise move for Guangzhou.

At the rate the CSL is growing with talent and money, I wonder how long it will be until it's broadcast on FoxSports, ESPN or beIN. I'd love to watch it.

Any update on attendances Greenlionii?

If things continue as is, the CSL will have the 5th highest average attendance in the world (factoring aside the ISL, which is obviously a very short league). That's a massive increase! It means they would've gone from 10th to 5th in just 2 years.

update to Round 26, this season's Chinese Super League has a total attendance of 4,624,034, already breaks CSL history record of whole season attendance which was 4,556,520 in 2014, the 2015 CSL currentlly has a average attendance of 22,231 that could rank third place in the League's history, after 1996 season (24,266) and 1995 season (23,790)

the second level, China League 1, has a total attendance of 1,853,420 after 26 rounds played, average 8,954, total attendance record for second level is 2,006,400 in 1999 season.

meanwhile the CSL committee had started tendering of new CSL braodcasting rights, with price floor 300 million RMB (47.07 million USD) per season

President Xi Jinping called on Friday for China and Britain to strengthen cooperation on soccer as he ended his four-day state visit to the United Kingdom.

As the birthplace of modern soccer and boasting strong teams, Britain is the country China should learn from, Xi said.

He said both countries should bolster cooperation and exchanges in the sport to promote friendship between their two peoples.

Soccer is the sport that most people play in the world and it has an extensive influence and is welcomed deeply by people globally, the president said.

Xi, who is a soccer fan, made his appeal as he toured the City Football Academy in Manchester where he was presented with a soccer shirt by Manchester City players.

Accompanied by British Prime Minister David Cameron, he visited the state-of-the-art training facility that includes a 7,000-capacity stadium and 16 soccer fields. The academy is home to Manchester City Football Club and is the headquarters of its global soccer organization.

The president and Cameron posed for a selfie with Sergio Aguero, City's star Argentine striker. The photo went viral on the Internet. Thank you for the selfie, says Aguero

Xi and Cameron were hosted by Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak. They watched a training session and met players who helped build the city's soccer tradition, including former Manchester United captain Gary Neville and ex-City stars Patrick Vieira and Mike Summerbee.

Xi and Cameron also toured the National Football Museum, which houses artifacts including a ball used in the final of the inaugural 1930 World Cup.

The museum presented a copy of the first competition rules for modern world soccer to Xi as a gift. Inreturn, he presented a cooper statue featuring cuju, an ancient Chinese football game, to the museum and a cooper statue of a cuju doll to Manchester City.

Another highlight of the visit was the induction into the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame of Chinese player Sun Jihai, who played 130 times for Manchester City between 2002 and 2008.

Sun, the first Chinese player to score in the English Premier League, was named City's Ambassador to China last month.

"Xi's visit to the City Football Academy is a great encouragement for the development of Chinese soccer," Sun said, adding that training for young players is the most important task now in China.

With the ongoing soccer reforms in the country, Sun said he hopes the Chinese national team can make good progress.

Al Mubarak, the City chairman, said," It was a wonderful moment for all concerned to see Sun Jihai's contribution to both Manchester and English football recognized by the National Football Museum.

"Today is testament to the club's strong existing links with China and to our ambitions for them to deepen and grow."

Xi is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Saturday.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2015xivisituk/2015-10/24/content_22271879.htm

Chinese FA Cup Semi Final second leg fulltime wrap:
Beijing BG 1 (Danko Lazović 90+3’ penalty)
Shanghai Shenhua 4 (Tim Cahill 17’ 90+4’ Demba Ba 27’ 79’)
(Shanghai Shenhua advance 7-3 on aggregate)

Jiangsu Sainty 2 (Sun Ke 62’ Sammir Campos 90+1’)
Shandong Luneng Taishan 0
(Jiangsu Sainty advance 4-1 on aggregate)

Chinese FA Cup Final:
1st Leg Shanghai Shenhua v Jiangsu Sainty in Shanghai
2nd Leg Jiangsu Sainty v Shanghai Shenhua in Nanjing
winners of the 2015 Chinese FA Cup Final qualify for the 2016 AFC Champions League Group Stage.