Guangzhou City F.C.
Guangzhou City Football Club (simplified Chinese: 广州城; traditional Chinese: 廣州城) was a Chinese professional football club which last competed in the Chinese Super League. The team was based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. The club's name between 2011 and 2020 was Guangzhou R&F, which was short for rich (富) and force (力). The club changed its name to Guangzhou City in December 2020.
| Full name | Guangzhou City Football Club 广州城足球俱乐部 |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blue Lions |
| Short name | GZ City |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Dissolved | 29 March 2023 |
| Guangzhou City F.C. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 廣州城 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 广州城 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
The club was founded in 2011 in Guangzhou. They played at the 55,000-seat Wulihe Stadium, until they moved to Changsha, Hunan in 2007 to reside at the Helong Stadium. American sportswear and sports equipment company MAZAMBA took over the club in 2010, and relocated the club to Shenzhen, Guangdong in February 2011. Their ownership was brief, and by June 2011 Chinese property developers Guangzhou R&F gained ownership of the club and moved them to Guangzhou. The club had their most successful season in 2014 as they finished third in the league and qualified for the 2015 AFC Champions League. Guangzhou City was dissolved in March 2023.