The Chinese Super League’s 2020 season will finally kick off on July 25, the Chinese Football Association has confirmed, five months after it was meant to start. “To satisfy people’s eager anticipation for the restoration of the CSL, the CFA decided that the 2020 CSL will be held on July 25 in Suzhou and Dalian,” it said in a statement on Wednesday. It also said that teams and officials would strictly adhere to the anti-pandemic measures. CSL teams will be based in the cities in much the same way of the Chinese Basketball Association’s post-coronavirus restart, which began on June 20. Teams are reported to be allowed into their host city between July 10 and 17, with the majority of foreign players and coaches now reported to have arrived back in China. Put Chinese football out of its misery and forget this season Two transfer windows will take place in the upcoming season, with the first opening on Thursday, July 2, until July 29. The CSL was originally set to start in February before China’s anti-pandemic measures put a stop to all sport in the country. While China was among the first to call football to a halt, it has taken longer than expected for the game to return and it comes after several European and Asian leagues have restarted. Now after several failed attempts to get plans to restart top-flight football past the authorities they are approved to start. Rumours in mainland media suggest that Wuhan Zall, the football team from the city where the first cases of Covid-19 were recorded, will play in the season opener. The Wuhan side found themselves stranded in Spain and unable to get back to the city as it was locked down to stop the spread of the virus.