The new China Arena Football League "will have its debut in the fall of 2016," administered by the Chinese Rugby Football Association, according to XINHUA. CAFL Global President David Niu said, "This will be China's first ever professional league of American-style football, played by the best players in the world." The league "will be composed of six teams located in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Dalian and Guangzhou." Many of the rosters "will feature Chinese players who have been training for the arena game at selected Chinese universities." The league "will start as a mix of American and Chinese players with the intent to have the teams expanded to 22 clubs by its fifth year of operations." Kicking off the first weekend in October in Beijing, each team and city "will host a weekend of competitions and fan entertainment." The league "concludes with the playoffs and crowning of the first ever champion in Shanghai" on the weekend of Nov. 5. The championship weekend will be called "The China Bowl" (XINHUA, 8/30).
