Jiangsu Football Club (), later known as Jiangsu Sainty F.C. (2000–2016) and Jiangsu Suning F.C. (2016–2021), was a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club that participated in the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

since 2009 until its dissolution in 2021. The team was based in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

, and their home stadium was the

Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre The Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium () is used mostly for football as well as for other sport of athletics. It is located in Hexi New Town, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, and covers an area of 89.6 hectares, with a total construction area of about ...

. The club's last owner was

Suning Appliance Group Suning Appliance Group Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese holding company that is the third largest shareholder of Suning Appliance (also known as Suning Domestic Appliance in 1996, Suning Appliance Chain Store (Group) in 2001, Suning Commerce Group from ...

, a sister company of

Suning.com Suning.com Co., Ltd. formerly Suning Commerce Group Co., Ltd. is one of the largest non-government retailers in China, headquartered in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Suning has more than 10,000 stores nationwide and its e-commerce platform, ''Suni ...

. The team was founded in 1958 as Jiangsu Provincial Team. The modern professional football club was established in March 1994, and was one of the founding members of the first fully professional top-tier league in China participating in the 1994 Chinese Jia-A League season. It faced relegation in that campaign; however, the team went on to win promotion back into the top tier at the end of the 2008 league season and achieved their best ever league position when they finished as champions in the

2020 Chinese Super League The 2020 Chinese Super League, officially known as the 2020 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () for sponsorship reasons, was the 17th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor is Ping An ...

. Three months after this top-tier league win, the club was dissolved.

History

The club was founded in April 1958 as Jiangsu Provincial Team by the local government and took part in the 1959

Chinese National Games The National Games of the People's Republic of China (), sometimes known as the All China Games (though not to be confused with the All-China Games), is the premier sports event in China at national level. It is usually held once every four yea ...

where they placed twelfth. They joined the top tier of the gradually expanding Chinese football league system in 1960; finishing nineteenth out of twenty-five teams. By 1963, the league had expanded to thirty-nine teams and the

Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's ...

decided they needed to reduce the number of participants in the league to twenty for the following season. Jiangsu finished seventh within their group stages, which relegated them from the league system. In 1964, they did not take part in any of the divisions but returned to play in the second tier in 1965 where they came seventh in the group stages. The

Chinese Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

halted the league for several seasons. When it returned in 1973, Jiangsu was placed back into the top tier where they finished the league in eleventh. Jiangsu's time in the top tier did not last very long, and at the end of the 1978 season they were relegated to the second division. For the next several years, Jiangsu remained a second-tier club apart from a one-season top-tier stint in 1988. However, in 1992 it won the second tier title which guaranteed the club promotion to the country's first fully professional first-tier league in 1994, 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 Associ ...

, irrespective of where it finished in the 1993 season. In March 1994, the club gained sponsorship and changed its name to Jiangsu Maint to comply with the requirements to take part in the 1994 Chinese Jia-A League season. it struggled with professionalism on and off the field, and was relegated at the end of the season. The stricter operational costs of the league resulted in the club struggling financially, which was exacerbated by also losing its sponsorship. Over time, the club gained some financial support from several major Chinese businesses including Jiangsu TV, Jinling Petrochemical Company, several Jiangsu tobacco companies in addition to some international investment companies. The club changed its name to Jiangsu Jiajia as a result of sponsorship; however, its improved financial stability did not prevent relegation to the third tier at the end of the 1996 season. The club spent only one season in the third division before gaining promotion by winning the 1997 title. On 7 January 2000, the manufacturing company Jiangsu Sainty International Group took over the club and changed the club's name to Jiangsu Sainty. The new owners did not get off to the best of starts when it was discovered they were unable to prevent some of their players and coaches from taking bribes; maleficence was shown to have taken place in the 6 October game of the 2001 season in a 4–2 loss to

Chengdu Wuniu Chengdu Tiancheng F.C. () was a Chinese professional football club based in Chengdu, China who last played in the 26,000 seater Shuangliu Sports Center in the China League One division. The club was founded on 26 February 1996 and was formerly kn ...

. The offending participants were banned for a year while the club had three months to reform and re-apply for a

playing license. After promising to clean up the club, the team lingered in the second tier for several years until they brought in

Pei Encai Pei Encai (; born 1 December 1953) is a Chinese football manager and a former player. Playing career Pei Encai would spend his youth within the Chinese military where he rose to be a Colonel. While in the army he would show to be promising mid ...

to manage the team, which resulted in a division title and promotion at the end of the 2008 season. The introduction of Serbian manager

Dragan Okuka Dragomir "Dragan" Okuka (; born 2 April 1954) is a Serbian football coach and former player. As a player, he was predominantly associated with his time with Velež Mostar where he won the 1981 Yugoslav Cup before joining Swedish club Örebro SK, ...

during the 2011 league season saw a significant improvement in league table finishes; a fourth-place finish at the end of the campaign and a runners-up position in the 2012 season. Off the field, the Jiangsu Sainty International Group was merged into Guoxin Group in 2011 to form Jiangsu Guoxin Investment Group Limited; this saw the Guoxin Group become the owner of the club. The club's name remained as Jiangsu Sainty F.C. until January 2014, when this changed to Jiangsu Guoxin-Sainty F.C. On the field under Dragan Okuka the team had a difficult 2013 league season and were almost relegated, leading to the club deciding not to renew his contract. By the 2015 league season Romanian manager

Dan Petrescu Daniel Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj. As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and represented Premier Lea ...

was brought into Jiangsu and in 2015 the team won the

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh titl ...

for the first time and qualified for the 2016 AFC Champions League. On 21 December 2015 the club was purchased by

for ¥523 million; its name was changed to Jiangsu Suning F.C. According to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'', Jiangsu was the fourth-wealthiest football team in China, with a team value of $144 million, and an estimated revenue of $36 million in 2015. In January 2016, Jiangsu Suning broke its transfer fee record twice in the same window, with a fee of £25 million paid for Ramires from

Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

, and later fellow Brazilian

Alex Teixeira Alex Teixeira Santos (; born 6 January 1990) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Vasco da Gama. Teixeira began his career with Vasco da Gama, making his debut for the senior team at the age of 18, before moving ...

for a fee of €50 million (£37 million) from

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...

. The club went on to have one successful season, finishing second in the

2016 Chinese Super League The 2016 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () was the 13th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor was Ping An Insurance. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao F.C., Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao wo ...

and the

2016 Chinese FA Cup Yanjing Beer 2016 Chinese FA Cup (Chinese: 燕京啤酒2016中国足球协会杯) was the 18th edition of the Chinese FA Cup and the 60th anniversary of the Chinese National Cup. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao beat the defending champions Jiangsu Sun ...

. It was the club's second straight appearance in the Finals of the

. In 2017 the team reached the knockout stages of the

2017 AFC Champions League The 2017 AFC Champions League was the 36th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 15th under the current AFC Champions League title. Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Al-Hilal ...

for the first time in their history. However, they missed the Champions League for the next two years, 2018 and 2019, due to struggles in domestic competitions. On 12 November 2020, Jiangsu Suning were crowned champions of the

for the first time in club history with a 2–1 aggregate victory over

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

in the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. Goals from Éder and

secured the title. On 1 February 2021, Jiangsu Suning changed their name to Jiangsu F.C. to meet a "neutral name" requirement by the

. On 28 February 2021, the parent company

Suning Holdings Group Suning Holdings Group Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese privately held company. The company shared the same founder Zhang Jindong with the listed company Suning.com, but Suning Holdings was the unlisted portion of Zhang's unincorporated Suning Group. Acc ...

announced that operations were going to cease immediately alongside the women and youth teams due to financial difficulties.

Naming history

* 1958: Jiangsu Province Football Team (江苏省男子足球队) * 1994: Jiangsu Maint Football Club (江苏迈特足球俱乐部) * 1995: Jiangsu Football Club (江苏足球队) * 1996: Jiangsu Gige Football Club (江苏金陵石化加佳足球俱乐部 (江苏加佳)) * 2000: Jiangsu Sainty Football Club (江苏舜天足球俱乐部) * 2014: Jiangsu Guoxin-Sainty Football Club (江苏国信舜天足球俱乐部) * 2016: Jiangsu Suning Football Club (江苏苏宁足球俱乐部) * 2021: Jiangsu Football Club (江苏足球俱乐部)

Rivalries

The club had rivalries with neighbouring

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

province’s

Zhejiang Energy Greentown F.C. Zhejiang Professional Football Club (), commonly referred to as Zhejiang FC or simply Zhejiang, is a professional Chinese football (soccer), football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Footb ...

from Hangzhou as well as Shanghai based clubs

Shanghai Greenland 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 ...

and

Shanghai SIPG Shanghai Port FC (), previously named Shanghai SIPG, is a professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Pudong, Shanghai, and their home sta ...

where they contest the Yangtze Delta Derby. The rivalry with Shanghai Greenland Shenhua was the oldest and fiercest and can be dated as far back as the 1960 league championship. When Jiangsu were relegated to the second tier in 1978, it put a halt to the rivalry between the two clubs. The rivalry was not properly reignited until 2009 when both teams were simultaneously back in the top flight and the hostilities resumed. A direct fight for silverware between these two teams finally emerged when they competed in the 2015 Chinese FA Cup final, which saw Jiangsu won 1–0 to claim their first Cup win. The Nanjing derby was a local inner city derby against

Nanjing Yoyo F.C. Nanjing Yoyo Football Club () was a Chinese football club which played in the China Jia League from 2003 to 2010. Founded in 2002 as the Liaoning Xingguang F.C., it was based on the youth team of Liaoning FC. In 2003, they were bought by SVT Gro ...

that started when Nanjing Yoyo moved into the same city as Jiangsu and into their former home ground of Wutaishan Stadium. Their first meeting occurred in Nanjing Yoyo's home ground on 19 July 2003 in a second-tier league game, which ended in a 1–1 draw. For six seasons the two teams fought to be the dominant club within Nanjing City with Jiangsu predominately the stronger side with four wins, seven draws and only one defeat. When Jiangsu won promotion to the top tier at the end of the 2008 league season, it put a halt to the derby. Nanjing Yoyo were subsequently dissolved in May, 2011 due to financial difficulties.

Managerial history

Managers who have coached the club and team since Jiangsu Sainty became a professional club back in 1994. * Liu Pingyu (1994–95) * Wei Ritun (1996) * Hu Zhigang (1997) * Yang Yumin (1998–99) * Gu Mingchang (2000) * Željko Banjac (2000) *

Leonid Koltun Leonid Koltun ( uk, Леонід Колтун; born September 7, 1944) is a retired Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1 ...

(2000–01) *

Boško Antić Božidar "Boško" Antić ( sr-Cyrl, Божидар Бошко Антић, ; 7 January 1944 – 4 December 2007) was a Yugoslav and Serbian professional football manager and former player. Playing career Being drafted into the youth setup of Sa ...

(2001) * Liu Pingyu (2002) *

(2002–03) *

Chi Shangbin Chi Shangbin (; 19 September 1949 – 6 March 2021) was a Chinese football player and coach. As player, he spent his whole career playing for Liaoning, and also represented China at international level. As manager, he was best known for his re ...

(1 Feb 2004 – 13 Jul 2004) *

(2004) * Wang Baoshan (2005) * Ma Lin (2006) * Li Hongbin (2006) * Branko Vojinović (2007) *

(21 Dec 2007 – 31 Dec 2010) *

Ján Kocian Ján Kocian (born 13 March 1958) is a Slovak football coach and former player who last managed ViOn Zlaté Moravce in Fortuna Liga and also held managerial positions across central Europe and Asia. Playing career During his playing days, he m ...

(1 Jan 2011 – 5 May 2011) *

(10 May 2011 – 5 Nov 2013) *

Gao Hongbo Gao Hongbo (; born January 25, 1966 in Beijing) is a retired Chinese football striker and head coach of China League One side Beijing Enterprises. He previously managed the China national football team from 2009 to 2011, and in 2016. Appoint ...

(8 Nov 2013 – 29 Jun 2015) *

(12 Jul 2015 – 3 Jun 2016) *

Tang Jing Tang Jing may refer to: * Tang Ching Tang Ching or Tang Jing (; 1 January 1924 - 2019) was a Chinese film actor and businessman from Zhengzhou, Henan, working in the Cinema of Taiwan and the Cinema of Hong Kong. He starred in at least 70 films ...

(3 Jun 2016 – 30 Jun 2016) ''(caretaker)'' *

Choi Yong-soo Choi Yong-soo (born 10 September 1973) is a South Korean professional football manager and former player. Playing career Choi played as a striker for Anyang LG Cheetahs (currently FC Seoul) in South Korea's K League. In 2000, he led Anyang ...

(1 Jul 2016 – 2 Jun 2017) *

Li Jinyu Li Jinyu (; born 6 July 1977) is a former international player who is currently the head coach of Wuhan. As a player he represented Liaoning Whowin and Shandong Luneng in the Chinese Super League and spent one season on loan at French club ...

(2 Jun 2017 – 11 Jun 2017) ''(caretaker)'' *

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...

(11 Jun 2017 – 28 Mar 2018) *

Cosmin Olăroiu Cosmin Aurelian Olăroiu (born 10 June 1969) is a Romanian professional football manager and former footballer in charge of UAE Pro League Sharjah FC. As a manager, he guided Steaua Bucharest to the Romanian League title and Romanian Supercup b ...

(28 Mar 2018 – 28 Feb 2021)

Honours

This list contains both honors received as a professional team and as a semi-professional team.

League

* Champions:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Chinese Jia B League/

Chinese League One The Chinese Football Association China League (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (中甲联赛), is the second level of professional football in China. Above League One is the Chinese Super League. Prior to the formation of ...

(Second tier) * Winners: 1992,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Chinese Yi League/ Chinese League Two (Third tier) * Winners: 1997

Cups

* Winners:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

* ''Runners-up:''

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Chinese FA Super Cup The Chinese FA Super Cup (), formerly named Chinese Football Super Cup (), is a pre-season association football, football competition held before the season begins in China PR, China. It is a Chinese football championship contested by the winners ...

* Winners:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

* ''Runners-up:''

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Results

All-time league rankings

''As of the end of 2019 season.'' * No league games in 1959, 1966–1972, and 1975; Jiangsu did not compete in 1964 and 1985 * In final group stage. * In group stage. * Promoted to the 1994 first tier. * Several home matches played in Zhenjiang Sports and Exhibition Center as

2013 Asian Youth Games ) , Nations participating = 45 , Athletes participating = 2404 , Officially opened by = Liu Yandong , Events = 122 in 16 sports , Opening ceremony = August 16 , Closing ceremony = August 24 , Stadium ...

and

2014 Summer Youth Olympics The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the II Summer Youth Olympic Games , and commonly known as Nanjing 2014 ( zh, c=南京2014, p=Nánjīng Èr Líng yī sì), were the second Summer Youth Olympic Games, an international sports ...

were held in Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre. * Includes playoffs. * The

was held behind closed doors most of the time, attendance and stadium not applicable. Key

* Pld = Played * W = Games won * D = Games drawn * L = Games lost * F = Goals for * A = Goals against * Pts = Points * Pos = Final position * DNQ = Did not qualify * DNE = Did not enter * NH = Not Held * – = Does Not Exist * R1 = Round 1 * R2 = Round 2 * R3 = Round 3 * R4 = Round 4 * F = Final * SF = Semi-finals * QF = Quarter-finals * R16 = Round of 16 * Group = Group stage * GS2 = Second Group stage * QR1 = First Qualifying Round * QR2 = Second Qualifying Round * QR3 = Third Qualifying Round

International competition

''Updated 24 May 2017''

Asian clubs ranking

References

External links

*
Stats on Sohu

Stats on Sina

Soccerway profile
{{Chinese Super League Defunct football clubs in China Chinese Super League clubs Sport in Nanjing Association football clubs established in 1994 Association football clubs disestablished in 2021 1994 establishments in China 2021 disestablishments in China