Shenzhen Football Club, a professional football club that advanced from China League One to the Chinese Super League at the end of last season, will begin this season’s matches March 2 at Shenzhen Universiade Center.
Shenzhen Football Club players.
The opening match will be Shenzhen F.C. vs. Hebei China Fortune F.C.
Shenzhen F.C., which won the first Chinese Super League title in 2004 and was relegated to the second-tier Chinese League One in 2011, returns to the first-tier league after seven years.
Shenzhen F.C. was founded in 1994 and started at the bottom of the Chinese football pyramid in the third tier. After successive league title wins in the third and second tiers of the professional football leagues, they were promoted to the top tier in 1996 in the former Chinese Jia-A League. After only one season they were relegated, however they quickly regained promotion and started to establish themselves within the league before they won the rebranded Chinese Super League title in 2004, making them the first club to win all three divisions within the Chinese league pyramid.
Since this achievement, the club has struggled to match the same success and was relegated to the second tier in 2011.
In 2006, Kaisa Group took over the club and on Nov. 3 last year, Shenzhen F.C. beat Zhejiang Yifeng 5-0 at Shenzhen Stadium. The victory earned the team a promotion to the Chinese Super League seven years after it was relegated.
Shenzhen F.C.’s current head coach is Juan Ramon Lopez Caro.
Opening match: March 2
Tickets: 30-280 yuan per home match, 350-1,280 yuan (whole-year home match ticket package and gifts)
Ticketing: 8839-8338
Venue: Shenzhen Universiade Center, 3001 Longxiang Boulevard, Longgang District (龙岗区龙翔大道3001号深圳龙岗大运中心)
Metro: Line 3 to Universiade Station (大运站), Exit C