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| Full name | Qingdao Red Lions Football Club 青岛红狮足球俱乐部 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 14 March 2016; 9 years ago (2016-03-14) | ||
| Ground | Tiantai Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 20,525 | ||
| Chairman | Piet van der Pol | ||
| Manager | Wang Xiao | ||
| League | China League Two | ||
| 2025 | China League One, 16th of 16 (relegated) | ||
Qingdao Red Lions Football Club (Chinese:青岛红狮足球俱乐部;pinyin:Qīngdǎo Hóngshī Zúqiú Jùlèbù) is a Chinese professionalfootball club based inQingdao,Shandong, that competes inChina League Two, the third tier ofChinese football. Qingdao Red Lions plays its home matches at theTiantai Stadium, located withinShinan District. The club's youth training takes part inLaixi and several other districts of Qingdao.
AsAdelaide and Qingdao incidentally became sister cities in 2014, building on from a sister state relationship between South Australia and Shandong which was established back in 1986 and has since evolved into a prosperous partnership, the club aims to contribute to the development of Chinese football, both on youth level as in competitive league football.
Qingdao Red Lions was established by Piet van der Pol, and his consortium after founding the club from scratch in March 2016. The Red Lions spent the initial three years of their existence in the fourth tier, before gaining promotion to the third division known asChina League Two ahead of the2019 season. Qingdao avoided relegation in their maiden campaign in 2019, finishing two points above the drop zone.
The club badge consists of a shield containing a lion's head —a symbol for strength— and Wuyue Feng (May Wind), the iconic monument on Qingdao'sMay Fourth Square.The 2020 home and away kit for Qingdao Red Lions are designed and manufactured by Guangzhou-based sports clothing and equipment producer UCAN.
From the start of the 2020 season, the first team play its games in the stadium at Laixi Sports Center, which was built for the 2015 Leisure Games. The stadium is facilitated with a natural grass pitch and has a capacity of 10.000 seats. Training takes places at separate training pitches at the same Laixi Sports Center.
During the 2019 China League Two season Qingdao Red Lions played its home games in the Zhonglian Sports Center in the northern Jimo district of Qingdao. In the 2017 Qingdao Super League the club played its home games at the newly developed football pitch within the Fushan Mountain Ecological Park. In the 2016 football season Qingdao Red Lions played their home games in a stadium with 10.000 seat capacity, located on the premises of a factory in Chengyang district.
Adelaide United[1] (2014–present)Both Adelaide and Qingdao based clubs are owned by current chairman, Piet van der Pol and the goal of the partnership is to give more opportunities to Chinese players. Then Director of FootballBruce Djite has said, "The idea is to develop Chinese players to create stronger links between us and Qingdao Red Lions."[2]Chen Yongbin was the first player to sign from Qingdao to Adelaide on a one-year deal.[3] He did not make an appearance for the senior side but made appearances in theY-League, he departed following the end to his contract.
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 | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Wang Xiao |  |
| Assistant coach | Geng Zhiqiang | |
| Assistant coach | Xu Xiang | |
Piet van der Pol (president)
Esti Lestari (CEO) Lon Weijers (COO) Anna Zhang (Commercial Affairs)
Hector Buraglia (Head of Youth Academy)| Name | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan Poortvliet | | 19 caps for theNetherlands national team. Played during the1978 FIFA World Cup Final againstArgentina. |
| Gert Heerkes | | Former head coach atWillem II andHeracles, both in Dutch Eredivisie, the highest league level. |
| Guo Zuojin | | Former assistant coach of the national team ofChina. |
| Tomaž Kavčič |  | Former head coach of the national team ofSlovenia. |
All-time league rankingsAs of the end of 2019 season.
| Year | Div | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | FA Cup | Super Cup | AFC | Att./G | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 | 41 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||
| 2017 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 6 | 21 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||
| 2018 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 61 | 15 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | ||
| 2019 | 3 | 30 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 25 | 53 | −28 | 271 | 24 | R2 | DNQ | DNQ |
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Qingdao Red Lions Youth Academy has established three youth training centers in Laixi city and the Laoshan and Licang districts of Qingdao, with a total of more than 200 registered players. Qingdao Red Lions Youth Academy is led by UEFA A LEVEL professional coach Hector Buraglia from Spain. The academy coaching staff consists of AFC qualified local coaches. With the support of the Laixi Government and the local Education and Sports Bureau, Qingdao Red Lions FC is carrying out in-depth cooperation with schools to build out the club's youth development structure, and respectively make a strong contribution to develop local youth football talent.
-Chen Yongbin – A-League – Adelaide United
In 2019 Chen Yongbin was transferred to Adelaide United, where he was registered for the 2020 A-League season.
