The settlement of football labour disputes in China is facing a dilemma. On the one hand, although the newly amended Sports Law of the People's Republic of China promotes the sports arbitration system, it explicitly excludes labor disputes from the scope of sports arbitration. While the internal dispute resolution institution of the Football Association that is able to accept football labor disputes is not a sports arbitration body; on the other hand, labor arbitration committees and courts with the authority to deal with labor disputes do not have the right to apply the rules of the industry in lieu of the labor legislation, and are incapable of solving the special problems in such industrial disputes. Adhering to the philosophy of industrial autonomy, courts have begun to refuse acceptance on the grounds that the National Sports Association has industry management power. As a manifestation of personal law, the industry's dispute resolution mechanism is an integral part of the industrial autonomy. As a result, the court's attitude has undergone a fundamental change, providing an opportunity for the establishment of Chinese football arbitration. However, the justification of Chinese football arbitration needs to clarify the legitimacy of its existence and address the relationship with domestic labor arbitration and dispute settlement mechanisms of FIFA. In order to build a football dispute solution mechanism with Chinese characteristics, it is also necessary to make improvements from the aspects of internal governance, arbitrators' selection, ruling law and transparency of awards.