Yunnan Hongta (Simplified () was a football club who played in the

Chinese Jia-A League The National Football Jia A League ( simplified Chinese, commonly known as Jia-A, was the highest tier of professional football in the People's Republic of China, during 1994 through 2003, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Asso ...

who were founded by the Shenzhen Kinspar Group in 1996 and named Shenzhen Kinspar (Simplified (). The club predominantly played within the lower leagues until they were sold to the Yunnan Hongta Group, a tobacco producer who renamed the team Yunnan Hongta and moved the club to

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

to play in the Tuodong Stadium. Yunnan Hongta would win promotion to the Chinese Jia-A League in the 1999 league season where they remained until

Chongqing Lifan Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic () is a defunct Chinese football club. The team was based in Chongqing. The club was founded in 1995 as Wuhan Qianwei before making their debut in the newly developed fully professional Chinese football league syst ...

bought then merged the teams in 2003.

History

Early club era

Founded as Shenzhen Kinspar (Simplified () by the Shenzhen Kinspar Group in 1996, the club won the membership of the second division (Chinese Football Association Jia League Group B) by defeating

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

in the final of the third and the lowest division

Chinese Football Association Yi League The Chinese Football Association Division Two League (Simplified Chinese: 中国足球协会乙级联赛), or China League Two, is the third tier league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football As ...

. In the following year, Shenzhen Kinspar lost the bid to the championship and sold the club to Yunnan Hongta Group, a tobacco producer. The team was renamed Yunnan Hongta. They played in Tuodong Stadium. Yunnan Hongta made huge investment in the club. First,

Qi Wusheng Qi Wusheng (; ; born May 20, 1944 in Weihai) is a Chinese football coach and a former international player. Playing career Despite being born in Shandong, Qi would go on to play for teams within Liaoning before he would be selected for the C ...

, who failed to lead China to qualify for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for t ...

was introduced in 1999. Next, the club bought a lot of young players from the upper division (Group A). Under Qi Wusheng the team won the runner up position of Group B and was promoted to Group A. In the next year,

Ou Chuliang Ou Chuliang (; born 26 August 1968 in Guangzhou, Guangdong) is an assistant coach and former Chinese international football goalkeeper. As a player, he was goalkeeper for Guangdong Hongyuan, Shanghai Shenhua, Yunnan Hongta and Chongqing Qic ...

, the goalkeeper of the national team, was transferred from

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

. Qi Wusheng's coaching in the national team made the team attractive to many national footballers. In 2002, another national team regular player

Wei Qun Wei Qun ( born 10 February 1971 in Zigong, Sichuan) is a Chinese football coach and a former player who spent the majority of his career with Sichuan Quanxing where he was a defender while internationally he represented China in the 1996 Asia ...

followed Ou Chuliang and joined the team. After settled down in Group A, Yunnan Hongta began to chase the championship in 2002. However, despite of leading in the first half, they end up with the seventh. In the same year, they hosted

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

during their offseason.

Merger with Chongqing Lifan F.C.

''See also Chongqing Lifan F.C.'' After ranked the seventh in the following year, the Yunnan Hongta Group lost the patience for the national title and sold the team to the relegated

. The merger ended Yunnan Hongta's hope of championship. Without the huge investment from the Yunnan Hongta Group, the new team end with the last spot in two years. The reserve team of Yunnan Hongta was not sold, however. They formed a new club named Lijiang Dongba and had played in the

China League Two The Chinese Football Association Division Two League (Simplified Chinese: 中国足球协会乙级联赛), or China League Two, is the third tier league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football As ...

for three seasons.

Name history

*1996: Shenzhen Kinspar (深圳金鹏) *1997-03: Yunnan Hongta (云南红塔)

Crest history

Image:ShenzhenJinpeng.png, 1996
Shenzhen Kinspar
(深圳金鹏) Image:YunnanHongta01.png, 1997-
Yunnan Hongta
(云南红塔) Image:YunnanHongta02.png, -2003
Yunnan Hongta
(云南红塔)

Results

All-time League rankings *As of the end of 2003 season.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Profile at sina.com
Football clubs in China Sport in Yunnan Association football clubs established in 1996 Association football clubs disestablished in 2003 Defunct football clubs in China 1996 establishments in China 2003 disestablishments in China