Shandong Taishan

China

Founded

1956

Arena

Jinan Olympic Sports Center · 56,808 cap

Shandong Taishan Football Club (Chinese: 山东泰山足球俱乐部; pinyin: Shāndōng Tàishān Zúqiú Jùlèbù) is a Chinese professional football club based in Jinan, Shandong, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Shandong Taishan plays its home matches at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, located within Lixia District. Their current majority shareholder is Shandong Electric Power Group Corporation, the biggest supplier of electric energy in Shandong province and itself part of the State Grid Corporation of China. Shandong Taishan is one of the four clubs to have never been relegated from the Chinese top-flight since the Chinese Super League's foundation in 2004. The club name Taishan derives from Mount Tai. The club's predecessor was called Shandong Provincial team which was founded on 10 April 1956, while the current professional football team was established on 2 December 1993. They were one of the founding members of the first fully professional top-tier football league in China. Since then, they have gone on to win their first league title in the 1999 league season. They have continued to win domestic silverware with the 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2021 league titles, making them one of the most successful football clubs in China. According to Forbes, Shandong is the 5th most valuable football team in China, with a team value of $126 million, and an estimated revenue of $24 million in 2015. In that year, Beijing Guoan, Guangzhou Evergrande and Shandong Luneng Taishan were the only Chinese sports clubs with at least 5 million followers on Weibo.

Shanghai Shenhua

China

Founded

1951

Arena

Shanghai Stadium · 33,060 cap

Shanghai Shenhua Football Club (Chinese: 上海申花足球俱乐部; pinyin: Shànghǎi Shēnhuā Zúqiú Jùlèbù) is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium, located within Xuhui District. The owner of Shanghai Shenhua F.C. is Shanghai Jiushi Group, a state-owned cultural and sports operation company in Shanghai. Shanghai Shenhua is one of the four clubs to have never been relegated from the Chinese top-flight since the Chinese Super League's foundation in 2004. The term shen hua literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in English – shen is one of the alternative names for Shanghai and hua means flower in Chinese. The club's predecessor was the municipal-run semi-pro club Shanghai F.C.. The team predominantly played in the top tier, where they won several domestic league and cup titles. On 10 December 1993, the club was reorganized to become a completely professional football club so they could play in the 1994 Chinese Jia-A League season, making them one of the founding members of the first fully professional top-tier leagues in China. Since then, they have won one league title and four Chinese FA Cups. According to Forbes, Shenhua was the 6th most valuable football team in China, with a team value of $106 million, and an estimated revenue of $29 million in 2015.