Ahead of the 2021 season, the Chinese Football Association ordered all clubs to eliminate any corporate references in their names. Now not less than 58 Chinese soccer clubs have requested to change their names from their corporate owners / sponsors.
Chinese Teams Forced To Remove Sponsors From Club Names
58 Chinese Teams To Change Team Names Because Of Chinese Football Association's Rule
The new CFA names policy forces China’s professional teams to drop their corporate owners’ names from their titles in favor of “neutral,” generic soccer names. Currently, China’s clubs are in the midst of an extensive rebranding effort.
CFA's names policy has been introduced to "safeguard soccer’s financial health in China" but certainly also to restrict private company's power.
Guangzhou Evergrande will be known as Guangzhou FC
According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, over 80 percent of the applications have been approved by the CFA. Some of the most prominent clubs were unable to avoid the changes. For example, Guangzhou Evergrande will be known as Guangzhou FC starting next season, while Shanghai SIPG (Shanghai International Port Group) has switched to the simplified Shanghai Port FC.
Chinese Football Teams' New Names From 2021
- Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao F.C. ➡️ Guangzhou FC
- Shanghai SIPG ➡️ Shanghai Port FC
- Guangzhou R&F ➡️ Guangzhou City F.C.
- Henan Jianye F.C. ➡️ Luoyang Longmen
- Shandong Luneng Taishan F.C. ➡️ Shandong Taishan
Some clubs are still trying to keep their classic name. Beijing Guoan, officially known as Beijing Sinobo Guoan, is fighting behind the scenes to save the Guoan brand. Shanghai Shenhua received a similar reprieve from the CFA over the Shenhua name.
New team logos have not been revealed yet.
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