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| Full name | Shanghai Port Football Club 上海海港足球俱乐部 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Red Eagles (红鹰) | ||
| Founded | 25 December 2005; 19 years ago (25 December 2005) | ||
| Ground | Pudong Football Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 37,000 | ||
| Owner | Shanghai International Port Group | ||
| Chairman | Zhang Min[1] | ||
| Head coach | Kevin Muscat | ||
| League | Chinese Super League | ||
| 2025 | Chinese Super League, 1st of 16 (champions) | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Shanghai Port Football Club (Chinese:上海海港足球俱乐部;pinyin:Shànghǎi Hǎigǎng Zúqiú Jùlèbù) is a Chinese professionalfootball club based inShanghai that competes in theChinese Super League, the top tier ofChinese football. Shanghai Port plays its home matches at thePudong Football Stadium, located withinPudong. Their owners are the Chinese groupShanghai International Port Group (SIPG).
The club was founded on 25 December 2005 asShanghai East Asia (Chinese:上海东亚;pinyin:Shànghǎi Dōngyà) by formerChinese international footballerXu Genbao. The club used graduates from theGenbao Football Base, a football academy also founded by Xu, to form their first team as they made their debut in the third tier of China's football league pyramid in the 2006 league season. They made it to the top tier in the2013 season and changed their name toShanghai SIPG (Chinese:上海上港;pinyin:Shànghǎi Shànggǎng) after SIPG's takeover in December 2014. They finished as league champions for the first time in the2018 Chinese Super League season, and changed to their current name in 2021. Shanghai Port then won three more league titles in the2023,2024 and2025 seasons.
According to aForbes report from 2015, Shanghai Port was the third-most valuable football club in China, with a club value of $159 million and an estimated revenue of $37 million.[2] According to the annual report of the parent company, the club had a revenue of CN¥565.7 million in 2015, as well as a net loss of CN¥41.5 million, total assets of CN¥286.8 million, and net assets of CN¥59.7 million.[3]
On 16 May 2000, the former Chinese international football coachXu Genbao founded theGenbao Football Base and enrolled 96 academy members born between 1988 and 1991, who were to be trained in the recently builtGenbao Football Base Arena.[4]
Xu Genbao initially had no intention of establishing a professional football club. However, as the youngsters in the Base grew up, the lack of youth football competition in China prompt Xu to set up a football club so that his protégés could earn match experiences in professional football. On 25 December 2005, Shanghai East Asia Football Club was jointly established by Xu Genbao and Shanghai East Asia Sports and Culture Center Co. Ltd, with Xu Genbao being the club chairman. Xu appointedClaude Lowitz, a French youth coach in the Base, as the team manager.
With young players aged between 14 and 17, Shanghai East Asia competed in the 2006China League Two, the third-tier of the Chinese league system. The team played their home games at Genbao Football Base Arena training ground inChongming,Shanghai, and eventually finished their first season in seventh place. During the campaign, Xu's players broke a few records during the season, withCao Yunding being the youngest Chinese goalscorer aged 16 years and 242 days,[5] andWu Lei the youngest Chinese professional footballer, aged only 14 years and 287 days.[6]
At the end of 2006, Claude Lowitz left the club, and former assistant manager Jiang Bingyao took up the manager position. With lessons learned and experiences gained from their debutante season, the young East Asia FC went on to win the division title in 2007, by beatingSichuan in the final, and thus gaining promotion toChina League One, the second-tier of the football league.[7]
Despite the successful promotion, questions arose as to what would happen to the team, especially given that Xu's previous efforts to create a professional club (Shanghai 02) ended up being sold off toShanghai Shenhua in 2002 due to financial difficulties. In June 2007, Shanghai government came to Xu's rescue with financial aid, in exchange East Asia FC would represent Shanghai in the2009 National Games of China.[8]
With the club in a higher division, Shanghai East Asia moved into the 30,000 seaterJinshan Sports Centre inJinshan District of Shanghai and finished the2008 China League One division campaign in sixth place. In summer 2009, Shanghai East Asia represented the Shanghai football team and took part in the 2009 National Games. Xu Genbao took up the management post himself and led the team to win gold in the men's football tournament. Meanwhile, in the league, Shanghai East Asia chose the 65,000 seaterShanghai Stadium as their home stadium for their2009 China League One campaign. They finished the season in fourth place and just missed out on promotion by a single win, but it was still considered quite an achievement because that team was made up of players under 20 years old, and with no foreign imports.
The 2010 league season saw former Chinese internationalFan Zhiyi receive his first management job at the club as well as the introduction of their first-ever foreign players in MacedonianNikola Karçev and HaitianFabrice Noël. Despite these new signings the club failed to improve upon the previous season's results and finished in fourth place. Failure to gain promotion and financial difficulties caused the club unable to hold onto their rising stars. Before the 2011 season, five of the team's starting players left the club: team captainWang Jiayu, Chinese internationalZhang Linpeng, and Chinese under-23 players Cao Yunding,Jiang Zhipeng, andGu Chao.[9] In the following 2011 season, Xu Genbao promoted several young players into the first team and the team finished the season in ninth place.
At the beginning of the 2012 season the club sold their team name to sponsor, Zobon Group for 30 million Yuan on a three-year deal, which saw the club change first team's name to Shanghai Tellace on 31 December 2011, while the club's name remains unchanged as Shanghai East Asia.[10] At the end of the season, they won the league title and was promoted to theChinese Super League.
On 28 December 2012, Shanghai East Asia changed its first team name again to Port Shanghai F.C., under a 40-million Yuan sponsorship deal withShanghai International Port.[11] Within the off-season, on 7 January 2013, the club officially acquired another Shanghai-based football club,Shanghai Zobon, which had previously played in the2012 China League Two division before they were dissolved. Most of its players, born between 1993 and 1994 and graduated from Genbao Football Base, were brought back under Xu Genbao's wing and would become thereserve team of Shanghai East Asia.[12] In the club's debut within the top tier they brought in former Chinese national team managerGao Hongbo as their head coach and he would go on to guide the club to a ninth-place finish at the end of the 2013 league season. The Shanghai International Port would decide to strengthen their position within the club and officially took over the whole club on 18 November 2014 and immediately appointedSven-Göran Eriksson as their new head coach.[13]
During the 2015 winter transfer window, Shanghai SIPG signed eight new players to strengthen the squad:Sun Xiang,Davi Rodrigues de Jesus,Dario Conca,Kim Ju-Young,Yang Boyu,Shi Ke,Jean Evrard Kouassi, andYu Hai – who the club spent 50 million Yuan on. It became the highest transfer record of any Chinese player. The team won the first three games of the season, which creates their best CSL league start in its history. On 9 May, Shanghai SIPG secured a 5–0 victory over their rival Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, and it was their first victory in theShanghai Derby. The team signed Ghanaian playerAsamoah Gyan in the summer transfer window. Jean Evrard Kouassi was dropped into the reserve team due to the registration restriction at that time (4 foreign players + 1 Asian foreign player). Shanghai SIPG finished the season in second place with 65 points – just two points behind the championsGuangzhou Evergrande. It was their best league position in the club's history and they managed to get into theAFC Champions League qualification.
In the beginning of 2016,SAIC Motor Corporation became one of Shanghai SIPG's main sponsors. The club signed former AFC Champions League & CSL golden boot winnerElkeson from Guangzhou Evergrande for €18.5 million. It broke the record of the Chinese transfer market. On 9 February, the team secured a 3–0 victory overMuang Thong United from Thailand in the AFC Champions League qualification round, and successfully went in to the group stage of the ACL. Shanghai SIPG went through the group stage in first place. In the round of 16, Shanghai SIPG facedFC Tokyo. They lost 2–1 away in the first leg, yet thanks to Wu Lei's late 90th-minute goal in the second leg, the team went through the round of 16 with anaway goal difference. During the summer transfer window, Shanghai SIPG spent €56 million to sign the Brazilian internationalHulk. The team was eliminated in the ACL quarter-finals, and in the CSL, the team ended up in third place with 52 points.
In2018, Shanghai rode the momentum of Wu Lei, who was the league's top scorer in that year, to win their first-ever CSL title.[14] In 2019, they won theSuper Cup for their second top tier trophy.
| Year | Owner | Club name | Sponsored team name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–2011 | Genbao Football Base Shanghai East Asia Sports and Culture Center Co. Ltd | Shanghai East Asia Football Club | |
| 2012 | Shanghai Tellace (上海特莱士)[15] | ||
| 2013–2014 | Shanghai SIPG[16] | ||
| 2015–present | Shanghai International Port Group[13] | Shanghai SIPG Football Club (2015–2020) Shanghai Port Football Club (2021–present) |
The club's main rival isShanghai Shenhua, with whom they contest the local Shanghai derby. With the club's founder Xu Genbao having managed Shenhua to the1995 league title, the Shenhua tie holds a direct personal link between the two teams.[17] On 28 April 2013 the two sides met for the first time in a league game that saw the club defeated 2–1 to Shenhua.[18] The tie againstShanghai Shenxin also holds strong links between the two teams withJiang Zhipeng andWang Jiayu both having represented both teams before the two clubs met in their first derby on 2 June 2013, which resulted in a 6–1 victory.[19] The club's geographical location has also opened them up to rivalries with neighbouring clubsHangzhou Greentown andJiangsu Guoxin-Sainty with whom they contest the Yangtze Delta Derby.[20]
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 |  Kevin Muscat |
| Assistant coaches | Vincenzo IerardoRoss Aloisi |
| Goalkeeping coach |  Ian Walker |
| Head of physical performance | Greg King |
| B-team head coach |  Cheng Yaodong |
List of Shanghai Port managers:[25]
Claude Lowitz (2006) Jiang Bingyao (2007–2009)Fan Zhiyi (2010) Jiang Bingyao (January 2011 – 20 December 2012)Gao Hongbo (27 February 2013 – 7 November 2013)Xi Zhikang (4 December 2013 – 17 November 2014)
Sven-Göran Eriksson (18 November 2014 – 4 November 2016)
André Villas-Boas (4 November 2016 – 30 November 2017)Vítor Pereira (13 December 2017 – 31 December 2020)
Ivan Leko (1 January 2021 – 1 December 2022)Xi Zhikang (1 December 2022 – 28 February 2023)
Javier Pereira (1 March 2023 – 31 December 2023)Kevin Muscat (1 January 2024 – present)| Year | Div | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts. | Pos. | FA Cup | Super Cup | AFC | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 26 | 29 | −3 | 14 | 7 1 | DNE | NH | DNQ | Genbao Football Base |
| 2007 | 3 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 15 | +20 | 30 1 | W | NH | NH | DNQ | |
| 2008 | 2 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 26 | 30 | −4 | 28 | 6 | NH | NH | DNQ | Jinshan Football Stadium |
| 2009 | 2 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 43 | 25 | +18 | 44 | 4 | NH | NH | DNQ | Shanghai Stadium |
| 2010 | 2 | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 25 | 18 | +7 | 37 | 4 | NH | NH | DNQ | |
| 2011 | 2 | 26 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 32 | 9 | R2 | NH | DNQ | |
| 2012 | 2 | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 47 | 25 | +22 | 59 | W | R3 | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 2013 | 1 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 38 | 35 | +3 | 37 | 9 | R4 | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 2014 | 1 | 30 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 48 | 5 | R3 | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 2015 | 1 | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 63 | 35 | +28 | 65 | RU | QF | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 2016 | 1 | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 56 | 32 | +24 | 52 | 3 | R4 | DNQ | Quarter-finals | |
| 2017 | 1 | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 72 | 39 | +33 | 58 | RU | RU | DNQ | Semi-finals | |
| 2018 | 1 | 30 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 77 | 33 | +44 | 68 | W | QF | DNQ | Round of 16 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 62 | 26 | +36 | 66 | 3 | SF | W | Quarter-finals | |
| 2020 | 1 | 14 2 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 11 | +15 | 32 | 4 3 | R2 | NH | Round of 16 | Yuanshen Sports Centre Stadium |
| 2021 | 1 | 22 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 42 | 14 | +28 | 45 | RU | RU | NH | Play-off round | Centralised venues |
| 2022 | 1 | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 55 | 25 | +30 | 65 | 4 | SF | NH | Withdrew 4 | Dalian Sports Centre Stadium |
| 2023 | 1 | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 61 | 30 | +31 | 63 | W | R4 | DNQ | Play-off round | Pudong Football Stadium |
| 2024 | 1 | 30 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 96 | 30 | +66 | 78 | W | W | RU | Round of 16 | |
| 2025 | 1 | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 72 | 44 | +28 | 66 | W | R16 | RU |
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All results list Shanghai's goal tally first.
| Season | Competition | Round | Opposition | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016[30] | AFC Champions League | Play-off round |  Muangthong United | 3–0 | |
| Group stage | Melbourne Victory | 3–1 | 1–2 | ||
 Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2–1 | 0–3 | |||
 Gamba Osaka | 2–1 | 2–0 | |||
| Round of 16 | FC Tokyo | 1–0 (a) | 1–2 | ||
| Quarter–finals | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 0–0 | 0–5 | ||
| 2017 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | Sukhothai | 3–0 | |
| Group stage | FC Seoul | 4–2 | 1–0 | ||
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 5–1 | 2–3 | |||
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 3–2 | 0–1 | |||
| Round of 16 | Jiangsu Suning | 2–1 | 3–2 | ||
| Quarter–finals | Guangzhou Evergrande | 4–0 | |||
| Semi-finals | Urawa Red Diamonds | 1–1 | 0–1 | ||
| 2018 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | Chiangrai United | 1–0 | |
| Group stage | Melbourne Victory | 4–1 | 1–2 | ||
| Kawasaki Frontale | 1–1 | 1–0 | |||
| Ulsan Hyundai | 2–2 | 1–0 | |||
| Round of 16 | Kashima Antlers | 2–1 | 1–3 | ||
| 2019 | AFC Champions League | Group stage | Kawasaki Frontale | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Ulsan Hyundai | 5–0 | 0–1 | |||
| Sydney FC | 2–2 | 3–3 | |||
| Round of 16 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1–1 | |||
| Quarter–finals | Urawa Red Diamonds | 2–2 | 1–1 (a) | ||
| 2020 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | Buriram United | 3–0 | |
| Group stage | Sydney FC | 0–4 | 2–1 | ||
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 0–2 | 2–1 | |||
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 0–1 | 2–1 | |||
| Round of 16 | Vissel Kobe | 0–2 | |||
| 2021 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round |  Kaya–Iloilo | 0–1 | |
| 2023–24 | AFC Champions League | Play-off round | BG Pathum United | 2–3 | |
(in Chinese)
