Full name | Guangzhou R&F Football Club 广州富力足球俱乐部 |
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Nickname(s) | Blue Lions |
Founded | June 25th, 2011 (1986 | , as Shenyang Football Team)
Ground |
Yuexiushan Stadium, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China |
Capacity | 15,000 |
Chairman | Zhang Li (张力) |
Manager | Dragan Stojković |
League | Chinese Super League |
2016 | Super League, 6th |
Website | Club home page |
Guangzhou R&F Football Club (simplified Chinese: 广州富力; traditional Chinese: 廣州富力; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Fùlì) is a professional football club that plays in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong and their home stadium is the Yuexiushan Stadium which has a seating capacity of 18,000. They are owned by the Chinese property developers R&F Properties who took charge in June 2011. The club's English name R&F is short for "Rich" (富) and "Force" (力).
The club was founded in 1986, in Shenyang as Shenyang Ginde FC (simplified Chinese: 沈阳金德; traditional Chinese: 瀋陽金德; pinyin: Shěnyáng Jīndé). They played in the 55,000-seat Shenyang Wuilihe Stadium (五里河体育场), until they moved to Changsha in 2007 to reside in the Helong Stadium. American sportswear and sports equipment company MAZAMBA took over the club in 2010, and relocated the club to Shenzhen in February 2011. Their ownership was brief, and by June 2011 Chinese property developers Guangzhou R&F gained ownership of the club and moved them to Guangzhou. The club had their most successful season in 2014 as they finished third in the league and qualified for the 2014 Asian Champions League.