In the early 1990s, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) introduced a reform of the football management system. The previous system was restructured into a new one that included professional and amateur football clubs, a number of football schools, and training centres. However, the football management system was still part of the administrative structure of the state at the national and local levels. In 2004, a new professional football league system was implemented by the CFA. Compared with the previous system, the governance structure of professional football experienced changes that brought about a degree of power sharing between large clubs and the CFA. A decade later, a new period can be identified by the 2015 decision of the Chinese government to issue an ‘overall programme’ for Chinese football development.