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| Full name | Nantong Zhiyun Football Club 南通支云足球俱乐部 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 13 March 2016; 9 years ago (2016-03-13) | ||
| Ground | Rugao Olympic Sports Center,Rugao,Jiangsu | ||
| Capacity | 25,000 | ||
| Chairman | Fan Bing | ||
| Head coach | Yoshiyuki Shinoda | ||
| League | China League One | ||
| 2024 | Chinese Super League, 16th of 16 (relegated) | ||
| Website | http://www.nantongzhiyunfc.com/ | ||
Nantong Zhiyun Football Club (Chinese:南通支云足球俱乐部;pinyin:Nántōng Zhīyún Zúqiú Jùlèbù) is a Chinese professionalfootball club based inRugao,Jiangsu, that competes inChina League One, the second tier ofChinese football. Nantong Zhiyun plays its home matches at theRugao Olympic Sports Center, located within Rugao. The club was founded on 13 March 2016 by Fan Bing with the support from theRugao andNantong municipal governments, and theJiangsu provincial government. The club nameZhiyun derives from Zhiyun Tower, a tower of historic significance inNantong, and is depicted on its club badge.
The club was formed when the Nantong Municipal Football Association bought the first team ofGuangxi Longguida F.C. as well as their registration and position in the Chinese Football AssociationChina League Two division.[1][2] Nantong Zhiyun F.C. was officially established on March 13, 2016, in a launching ceremony held inRugao,Nantong in theJiangsu province where the Chairman Fan Bing, with the support from theRugao,Nantong andJiangsu Province Municipal Government, announced that the club was named after the Zhiyun Pagoda situated on the top of theLangshan hill overlooking the city ofNantong. The club's badge would utilise a wolf as reference to Langshan hill's history with wolves while blue was chosen as the team's home colours.[3] Former Chinese referee Li Jun was appointed as the club's general manager and former Chinese internationalWei Xin as the club's Head Coach.[4]
In the2018 China League Two season, they gained promotion to theChina League One for the first time in its history after beatingShaanxi Chang'an Athletic 1–0 atShaanxi Province Stadium in front of 48,869 spectators on October 27, with a last minute goal byNan Yunqi sealing the game.[5] With that victory the club were able to gain investment after several shareholders left the club while they were in the third tier.[6] In the second tier the club would struggle and Wei Xin was replaced withGary White as Head Coach on 20 August 2019, who ensured the clubs survival within the division.[7] On 31 March 2020,Xie Hui was brought in as the new Head Coach, however his vocal behaviour and critical options, particularly on the President of theChinese Football Association,Chen Xuyuan saw him resign.[8] On 26 August 2021,Cao Rui would be brought in to manage the team and he would go on to lead the team to third within the division and promotion to the top tier at the end of the2022 China League One season.[9]
In 2022, Nantong Zhiyun secured promotion toChinese Super League for the first time in history from 2023 season after finishing third place inChina League One in 2022 season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Yoshiyuki Shinoda |
| Assistant coach |  Xerman López Figueiras |
| Goalkeeping coach |  Li Huayang |
| Team Manager | Li Xiangbin |
Last updated: 27 March 2025
Source: 27 March 2025
Wei Xin (2016)
Tomislav Stipić (2017)Wei Xin (2017–2019)
Gary White (2019–2020)Xie Hui (2020–2021)Cao Rui (2021–2022)
David Patricio (2023)Zhu Qi (caretaker) (2023)Gabri (2023)David Patricio (2023)
Mihajlo Jurasović (2024)David Patricio (2024)Yoshiyuki Shinoda (2025–present)All-time league rankings
As of the end of 2023 season.[11]
| Year | Div | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | FA Cup | Super Cup | AFC | Att./G | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 18 | 16 | R1 | DNQ | DNQ | 4,825 | Rugao Olympic Sports Center |
| 2017 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 39 | 8 | R2 | DNQ | DNQ | 3,371 | ||
| 2018 | 31 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 58 | 22 | 36 | 68 | RU | R16 | DNQ | DNQ | 9,126 | ||
| 2019 | 2 | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 35 | 38 | -3 | 33 | 12 | R3 | DNQ | DNQ | 11,008 | |
| 2020 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 22 | 12 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | |||
| 2021 | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 62 | 30 | 32 | 65 | 5 | R4 | DNQ | DNQ | |||
| 2022 | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 62 | 22 | 40 | 70 | 3 | R1 | DNQ | DNQ | |||
| 2023 | 1 | 30 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 42 | -16 | 22 | 14 | QF | DNQ | DNQ | 15,432 |
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