CSL Shanghai Shenhua Fans Assured New Owner Will Return 'Shenhua' To Club Name

Real estate company Greenland Group, the majority shareholder of Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, has agreed to put "Shenhua" back in the "official name" of the club by the end of the year, but fan representatives "gave the promise a very cautious welcome," according to Cameron Wilson of WILD EAST FOOTBALL. At a meeting attended by Greenland and Shenhua's main fan groups, the club said that it would "alter the name 'as soon as circumstances permit,' declining to give a specific timeframe." Club Chair Wu Xiaohui explained that Greenland’s takeover of the club had been "rather abrupt, coming just before Chinese New Year at the end of January leaving no time to take care of naming issue problems." Shenhua fans reportedly "do not trust Greenland's pledge to return Shenhua to the club's name" (WILD EAST FOOTBALL, 3/23).