Liaoning Tieren F.C.

History

Shenyang City was founded in 2015 by former footballer Zhuang Yi, who assembled the team from players left without contracts after Shenyang Zhongze collapsed on the eve of the 2015 China League One season. Zhuang Yi had earlier tried to buy Shenyang Zhongze to keep it alive, but local officials turned down his offer. The new club entered the 2015 China Football Amateur League, placed in the top four, and earned a spot in China League Two, changing its name to Shenyang Urban the next year.

The club spent several seasons in China League Two, twice reaching the playoffs in 2016 and 2018 but losing in the first round each time. The 2018 campaign was their first real bid for promotion, backed by an 80 million yuan budget and manager Wang Bo, a former professional. They added ex-Chinese Super League players like Xu Bo and Quan Lei. Shenyang City opened with nine straight wins, sitting atop the North Division, but then went six matches without a victory and fell out of the automatic promotion spots. They still made the promotion playoffs but were knocked out in the first round.

On 12 May 2018, club owner Zhuang Yi came on as a substitute in a 7–1 win over Baotou Nanjiao, becoming the oldest player to appear in professional Chinese football at 44 years and 305 days. He topped that record on 3 June 2018 in a 4–0 victory against Yanbian Beiguo, and also scored a penalty in that match, making him the oldest goal scorer in professional Chinese football at 44 years and 327 days.

The team’s push finally paid off in the 2019 China League Two season. They appointed Yu Ming, a former captain of Liaoning F.C., as head coach. Under Yu, the club went on a 19-match unbeaten run, including a record 14 consecutive wins in the second half of the season. On 19 October 2019, Shenyang City beat Chengdu Better City 2–0 in the second leg of the league final at home, winning 4–1 on aggregate and claiming the championship, which secured promotion to China League One.