Sky Sports has added another competition to its schedule of live football with the addition of the Chinese Super League. The network secured the rights for the next three seasons. The first match to be shown on Saturday could see former League Championship side Newcastle United forward Obafemi Martins in action when Shanghai Greenland Shenhua faces Jiangsu Suning (Sky Sports). In London, Nicholas Godden reported the rise of the mega-rich Chinese Super League "continues to gather pace." The league "has been making waves in recent months" with a number of high-profile signings and Sky Sports have "taken advantage of the growing interest" in the Far East. The CSL adds to Sky Sports' "burgeoning portfolio of live football coverage" that includes the Premier League, the English Football League, La Liga and Major League Soccer. The Chinese Super League features 16 teams and the season runs from March to November (LONDON TIMES, 7/26). In London, Sam Morshead reported CSL clubs spent more money on transfers during the last window than their English top-flight counterparts, with their collective £208M ($273M) outlay "dwarfing" the £127M ($167M) in the Premier League (DAILY MAIL, 7/26).
