Guangzhou football clubs
If you think that Guangzhou is only about countless markets with clothes, electronic devices, and furniture then you are mistaken. What if I tell you that Guangzhou is a football capital? You’ve heard right, today we are going to talk about the most spectacular sport in the world - football!
How popular is football in China?
Until recently, football in China was not a very popular sport. Perhaps, Chinese football fans haven’t found their football star yet. Indeed, thanks to basketball player Yao Ming, who played in the American NBA, basketball has become very popular among young people in China. To be honest, we couldn’t remember any Chinese football player, who has won the Champions League or the UEFA Cup, or the one who at least played in any European championships.
However, a lot of things have changed over the last years. Chinese football has attracted the attention of the whole world. The owners of Chinese football clubs are successful businessmen and heads of the largest corporations in China. Thanks to their financial support, in recent years there has been a tendency to buy the best foreign players for Chinese football clubs. And if we consider that in China they have a limit for a number of foreign players per football club, you can make sure that clubs choose football players very carefully. Every year there are more and more players from abroad in the Chinese championship.
Guangzhou football clubs
Did you know that in 2016 the most expensive football club in the world (!!!) was from Guangzhou? It became more costly than Madrid "Real" and "Manchester United". "Guangzhou Evergrande" was estimated at 3.26 billion dollars.
Football club “Guangzhou Evergrande”( 广州恒大淘宝) was founded in 1954. Its head coach is the Italian Fabio Cannavaro who became the world champion in the Italian national team in 2006. He replaced the no less noble coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. “Guangzhou Evergrande” was the champion of Chinese Super League for 7 years from 2011 to 2017. After becoming the silver medalist in 2018, the club won the gold medal again in 2019. In 2013 and 2015, the club won the AFC Champions League, the main football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation among the strongest Asian football clubs. Their home stadium is the Tianhe Stadium which is located in the centre of Guanzhou and has a seating capacity of 58 500.
Another well-known football club in Guangzhou is “Guangzhou R&F” (广州富力). It is not as successful as “Guangzhou Evergrande” but it also plays in Chinese Super League. The club was found in 1986 in Shenyang. It has changed several owners, 9 names and 4 cities. From 2011 their home stadium has been the Yuexiu Stadium with a seating capacity of 18 000 near the Sun-Yat Sen Memorial metro station.
The information about matches you can find on the website.
Where to buy tickets for "Guangzhou Evergrande" matches?
- On the official website of the club
- On the day of the match at the Tianhe Stadium, South Gate
Address in Chinese: 广州市-天河区-天河路299
Address in English: Guangzhou, Tianhe, Tianhe St. 299, South Gate
Prices: 150, 300, 500 RMB, VIP - 800 RMB
Where to buy tickets for "Guangzhou R&F" matches?
- On the official website of the club
- On the day of the match at the Yuexiu Stadium, Gate #10
Address in Chinese: 广州市-越秀区-应元路34号-10号入口
Address in English: Guangzhou, Yuexiu, Yingyuan St. 34, Gate 10
Prices: 60, 80, 100, 200 RMB
If you have free time after visiting Foshan and if you like football, then don’t miss such an opportunity to see the match of one of the best football clubs in China.