The Impact of Policy-induced Fluctuations on Consumer Demand in the Professional Sports Market——An Empirical Study Based on the Chinese Football Association Super League

Against the backdrop of latest Chinese Super League (CSL) U23 domestic player and foreign player rules, this paper takes the perspective of consumers acting in the professional sports market and investigates the correlation between policy changes and audience's consumption sentiments by utilizing micro-data archived for all 480 matches in 2016 and 2017 season in CSL. Through the construction and inspection of the empirical model, this study aims to go beyond the geographic and explanatory limit of previous professional sports demanding contributions in the field of sports economics and to render a wider range of references for the medium-and long-term development plan of the Chinese football reform. After controlling for defined variables, results show that 1) The number of U23 local youth players negatively predicts game attendance, demonstrating an urgent call for striking a balance between fostering up-and-coming talents, implementing new rules, and stimulating consumption. 2) The total number of foreign players on the pitch shows no significant effect on game attendance, suggesting that the foreign player limit introduces no dramatic impact on the attraction and appreciation of CSL games. Clubs should focus on effectively dealing with the heavy financial burden engendered by the substantial idleness of foreign players, the lag of financial statistics, and the low-degree international integration of transfer dealings. 3) Marquee foreign players and managers show no essential influence on the audience's consuming willingness, but the overall transfer value has a significant positive impact on game attendance. By means of balancing the transfer budget, increasing the mutual understanding between foreign and other players, and importing competitive local players, all clubs should raise the efficiency of fund utilization and enhance the team's overall strength, thereby attracting more fans to enter the stadium.