Genbao Football Base Arena
| Location |
Chongming County Shanghai, China |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 31°40′18″N 121°29′6″E / 31.67167°N 121.48500°ECoordinates: 31°40′18″N 121°29′6″E / 31.67167°N 121.48500°E |
| Owner | Xu Genbao |
| Type | Sports facility |
| Construction | |
| Built | 2000 |
| Opened | 2001 |
| Construction cost | 30 million yuan |
Genbao Football Base (Simplified Chinese: 上海根宝足球基地) is the training ground of Shanghai East Asia F.C. and home to its Youth academy. It is located in Chongming County, Shanghai, China. The base is named after its founder and owner, Xu Genbao, a prominent Chinese football manager and a former international footballer.
The construction of the base started in 2000, after Xu Genbao quit his managerial position at Dalian Shide F.C. in 1999 and determined to devote himself to youth football. Inspired by Manchester United F.C.'s success in late 1990s as a result of its fruitful youth development, Xu carved on a big rock at the front gate of the Base his ambition: "To Build a Manchester United of China". In 2000, the Base, while still under construction, saw the first batch of young players aged between 11-12 enrolled into the academy. Some of them formed Shanghai East Asia F.C., which was founded by Xu Genbao in 2005, and went on to win the 2007 China League Two and the 2012 China League One. Shanghai East Asia F.C. is currently playing in Chinese Super League, the top division in China. The Base has produced several Chinese internationals including Jiang Zhipeng, Zhang Linpeng, Yan Junling, Cai Huikang and Wu Lei.
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