Over the past few years, football in China has continued to grow in leaps and bounds. This is reflected in the amount of money that has been pumped into the league of the country and the increasing arrival of foreign talent, which has boosted the profile of the Chinese Super League. The top-flight football in China was previously known as Chinese Jia-A League, but was rebranded in 2004 to the Chinese Super League. There are quite a lot of very successful and popular clubs across China. However, here are the top football clubs in China.
1. Guangzhou FC
Guangzhou was founded 67 years ago in June 1954 by the local sports body situated within the same city. The South China Tigers play at the almost 55,000 capacity Tianhe Stadium. They are currently owned by the Evergrande and Alibaba Group. They play in a pink home kit with Tiger like designs and patterns on the front and back of the jersey. They have won the Chinese Super League on eight occasions and the Chinese FA Cup twice. They have also won the Asian Champions League 2 times. They are also one of the most successful football clubs in Asia.
2. Shandong Taishan
Taishan was founded on the 10th of April, 1956, to operate initially as a semi-professional outfit. They fully adopted a professional structure on the 2nd of December, 1998. They were established and run by the Shandong province for many years before ownership was transferred to the present owner, Shandong Luneng group. Taishan Dui plays their home matches at the approximately 57,000 capacity Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium. Shandong Taishan’s honours include 4 Chinese Super League titles and 7 Chinese FA Cup trophies. Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini currently plays for the club.
3. Changchun Yatai
This Super League side is based in the city of Changchun. It was founded on the 6th of June, 1996. They were established by the local conglomerate Jilin Yatai Group and play their home games at the 38,500-capacity Nanling Stadium. Their jersey is a red jersey on black shorts and red socks. The only trophy to their name is the Super League, which they won in 2007.
4. Jiangsu FC
The Super League team is based in the province with the same name. They were founded in 1958 by the provincial government. Their home ground is the 61,443 capacity Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre. They usually wear an all-blue jersey with some yellow designs on the front of the jersey. They have won the Super League and FA Cup just once in their history.
5. Beijing Guoan
The Imperial Guards were founded in 1955 by the Beijing local government. They are currently owned by the Sinobo group, who took over the running of the club in 2016. Guoan play their home games at the 31,000 capacity Beijing Fengtai Stadium. They usually wear an all-green jersey with some yellow patterns. They won the league only once in their history, finishing agonizingly second on 4 occasions. They have had more success in the Chinese FA Cup, winning 5 editions of the competition.
6. Shanghai Port FC
Shanghai Port FC, formerly known as Shanghai SiPG, is a football club owned by Chinese group Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG). The football team is based in Pudong, Shanghai, and their home stadium is the Pudong Football Stadium. It is one of the youngest football clubs in China, as it was established on 25 December 2005 by former Chinese international footballer Xu Genbao. They won the Chinese Super League in 2018.
7. Dalian Shide FC
Dalian Shide is undoubtedly one of the top football clubs in China. The football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province has won a total of eight league titles from both the Jia A and the rebranded Chinese Super League. They also lifted the Chinese FA Cup trophies on three occasions.
