Lanzhou Longyuan Athletic Football Club () is a Chinese professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

, that competes in . Lanzhou Longyuan Athletic plays its home matches at the Lanzhou Olympic Center Stadium, located within

Qilihe District Qilihe District () is one of 5 districts of the prefecture-level city of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, Northwest China. It is one of 17 administrative districts of Gansu. Geography Qilihe District is located entirely on the southern b ...

. Founded in 2014 as Rizhao Yuqi Football Club, the club relocated to Lanzhou in 2025 and changed to its current name.

History

In 2014, the club were initially formed by amateur footballers as Rizhao Yuqi Football Club in

Rizhao Rizhao (), alternatively romanized as Jihchao, is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shandong province, China. It is situated on the coastline along the Yellow Sea, and features a major seaport, the Port of Rizhao. It borders Qingdao to th ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

. After a number of retired footballers joined the club, the club started participating in provincial or national competitions, being dominant back-to-back Rizhao Football League champions, and winning a Shandong FA Cup title. In 2017, the club entered the 2017 Chinese FA Cup qualifying round, although a draw and two losses saw Rizhao Yuqi finish bottom of their group, failing to advance to first round proper. After winning the Rizhao Championship League in 2021, Rizhao Yuqi were qualified to compete in the 2022 Chinese Champions League. They were drawn into a group with Dalian Duxing and Changchun Golden Kirin, and after picking up a win over Changchun Golden Kirin and a loss to Dalian Duxing, Rizhao Yuqi advanced to the elimination round. With the aggregate score at 2–2, Rizhao Yuqi prevailed on penalties over Yingkou Chaoyue to advance to the finals. After all seven matches, Rizhao Yuqi found themselves bottom of their group, only managing to pick up a single point. With an overall 15th place

Chinese Champions League The Chinese Football Association Member Association Champions League (), referred to as the Chinese Champions League or CMCL, is the fourth-tier football league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Fo ...

finish in the previous season, Rizhao Yuqi re-entered the 2023 Chinese Champions League. Rizhao Yuqi played on home soil as the Chinese FA chose

as a host region, and after a 1–1 draw with Binzhou Huilong, Rizhao Yuqi qualified for the final round for a second consecutive time. In this period, the club also played a

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. The current holders are Shanghai Port, having beaten Shandong Taishan in 2024 for their first title. H ...

tie, losing 6–1 at home to

China League Two The Chinese Football League 2 (), or China League Two, is the third-tier association football league of the People's Republic of China. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association and operated by the Chinese Professional ...

club Chongqing Tonglianglong. Drawn with Shenzhen Juniors and Xi'an Chongde Ronghai in the final round, Rizhao Yuqi finished fourth in the group of eight. It set up a knock-out tie with Dalian Huayi, which Rizhao Yuqi won 3–2 on penalties, advancing into the second round. On 28 October 2023, Rizhao Yuqi then faced off against Guangxi Hengchen in the second round of the knock-out stage; a win would mean guaranteed promotion to

. A 5–4 defeat on penalties saw Rizhao Yuqi finish 6th, missing out on promotion. However, on 6 February 2024, Rizhao Yuqi were admitted into China League Two, as sufficient teams above them in the Chinese football pyramid have either pulled out or dissolved. On 20 February 2025, the Chinese Football Association announced that Rizhao Yuqi had changed its name to Lanzhou Longyuan Athletic, following the completion of the club's relocation to

on 20 January.

Players

First-team squad

Managerial staff

References

{{China League Two Rizhao Lanzhou 2014 establishments in China Association football clubs established in 2014 Sport in Shandong Sport in Gansu Football clubs in China Football clubs in Shandong Football clubs in Gansu China League Two clubs Chinese Champions League clubs