Shanghai Shenhua F.C.

Shanghai Shenhua
上海申花
Full nameShanghai Shenhua Football Club
(上海申花足球俱乐部)
Nickname(s)The Flower of Shanghai (申花)
The Blue Devils (蓝魔)
Founded1 November 1951 (1951-11-01) (Semi-professional)
10 December 1993 (1993-12-10) (Professional)
GroundShanghai Stadium
Capacity72,000
OwnerShanghai Jiushi Group
ChairmanGu Jiqing
Head coachLeonid Slutsky
LeagueChinese Super League
2024Chinese Super League, 2nd of 16
Websiteshenhuafc.com.cn
Shanghai Shenhua F.C.
Traditional Chinese上海申花足球俱樂部
Simplified Chinese上海申花足球俱乐部
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShànghǎi Shēnhuā Zúqiú Jùlèbù

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 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 Football Club. 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. Shenhua have won 6 Chinese FA Cup and a record 5 Chinese FA Super Cup.

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.