Can Manchester City’s owners succeed in Chinese football with Shenzhen Peng City?
- Co-owned by City Football Group and newly relocated from Chengdu, the club were routed in their first home Chinese Super League match, with a modest crowd
- Fans complain that ticket prices are not attractive enough, while others highlight only three glaring issues on the pitch: defence, midfield and attack
Shenzhen Peng City were urged to sign more players and drop ticket prices to bolster their assault on football’s Chinese Super League after back-to-back defeats to start their first season since relocating from Chengdu.
A narrow one-goal defeat at Zhejiang in their opening match last week was followed by a 4-0 thrashing by Tianjin Jinmen Tiger on their home debut on Sunday.
The results hinted at the rebranded team’s immediate prospects in a new home in the southern city bordering Hong Kong, having moved 1,340km (833 miles) from the country’s southwest, where they had been known as Sichuan Jiuniu since their origins in 2017.
Also signalling the challenge for the club’s co-owner City Football Group (CFG) was an attendance of 7,671 at the 44,050-seater Bao’an Stadium, the league’s lowest attendance this season and almost 15,000 below its average.
Some fans used Chinese social media to tell CFG the ticket prices were not attractive enough for a team putting down roots. The cheapest ticket cost 120 yuan (HK$130, or US$17), rising to 360 yuan, while season tickets are available for between 850 and 1,500 yuan, or 600 yuan for students.
