Shanghai Shenxin F.C.

Shanghai Shenxin Football Club was a professional football club that participated in China's football league system between 2003 and 2019 under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team was based in Jinshan District, Shanghai and their home stadium was the Jinshan Football Stadium that has a seating capacity of 30,000. Their majority shareholder was Chinese real estate company Hengyuan Corporation. The club was founded in 2003 as Shanghai Jinmao Football Club, later renamed Shanghai Hengyuan Football Club, before they made their debut in the third tier of China's football league pyramid in the 2003 league season. When the People's Liberation Army dismissed part of its sports branch, which included its football team the club became interested in acquiring it before ultimately buying their youth team. On April 2, 2004, a new club named Nanchang Bayi Hengyuan Football Club was established with players who had played for the Shanghai Hengyuan Football Club and the Bayi U-19 team. The club worked its way up to the top tier after coming runners-up in the second division during the 2009 league season and promotion to the Chinese Super League. The club name changed to "Nanchang Hengyuan Football Club" at 2010 summer, because the word "Bayi" (means People's Liberation Army) used by enterprise is prohibited from 2009. After almost eight years in Nanchang the club would decide to move back to Shanghai at the beginning of 2012 and renamed themselves Shanghai Shenxin Football Club. History In 2003 Shanghai Jinmao Football Club was founded in the Zhabei District of Shanghai by Jinmao Group and the local FA. Before the club was able to participate in the 2003 China League Two, Jinmao Group withdrew from the position of the main shareholder of the club, which was filled in by Shanghai real estate company Hengyuan Corporation, and the club was in turn renamed Shanghai Hengyuan Football Club. In their first season, they failed to reach the finals at the end of the campaign. During this period top-tier side Bayi FC were in financial difficulties. Shanghai Hengyuan were interested to taking over the entire club especially their position in the top tier of the Chinese football pyramid, however this was unable to be achieved because many of the first team had already left the club.