苏超

What does 苏超 mean?

苏超 is the nickname of the Jiangsu Province City Football League (江苏省城市足球联赛), modelled on how 英超 means the Premier League. The word covers the matches themselves and, even more, the flood of online teasing between Jiangsu's 13 cities, nicknamed 十三太保 ('the thirteen guardians'). Fans, local businesses and even official city accounts joke about each other's food, history and old rivalries, so many people follow it without caring much about football. Its signature slogan 比赛第一，友谊第十四 ('competition first, friendship fourteenth') flips the classic 'friendship first, competition second', since there are 13 teams. 苏超 also became a template, with people coining ×超 for other regional leagues.

Where does 苏超 come from?

The league kicked off on 10 May 2025, co-organised by Jiangsu's provincial sports bureau and the city governments. Banter between fans, city government accounts and brands kept it trending, and related hashtags had drawn billions of views by June 2025. 《咬文嚼字》 included 苏超 in its top ten buzzwords of 2025.

How to use 苏超

• 这周末苏超南京对苏州，比赛第一，友谊第十四！
  Zhè zhōumò Sū Chāo Nánjīng duì Sūzhōu, bǐsài dì yī, yǒuyì dì shísì!
  This weekend in the Su Chao it's Nanjing vs Suzhou: competition first, friendship fourteenth!
• 我不懂足球，但我每场苏超都看。
  Wǒ bù dǒng zúqiú, dàn wǒ měi chǎng Sū Chāo dōu kàn.
  I know nothing about football, but I watch every Su Chao match.