Shenzhen Kaisa F.C., a professional Chinese soccer club that currently participates in the China League One division, is inviting fans to watch their training Wednesday in Xili.

Fans can send “球迷开放日 + name + ID card number + mobile phone number” to the club’s official WeChat “SHENZHEN-FC” by 4 p.m. today to join the event.

Founded in 1994, the club was known as Shenzhen F.C. when they started at the bottom of the Chinese soccer pyramid in the third tier. After successive league title wins in the third and second tiers of the professional soccer leagues, they were promoted to the top tier in the Chinese A League (now Chinese Super League) in 1996.

After only one season they were relegated to a lower tier again, however they quickly regained momentum and started to re-establish themselves within the league before they won the Chinese Super League title in 2004, making them the first club to win all three tiers within the Chinese league pyramid. Since this achievement, the club has struggled to repeat that level of success and after 14 years were again relegated to the second tier (China League One) at the end of the 2011 Chinese Super League season.

The team’s current head coach is Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, who has coached Real Madrid, Levante, Celta and Spain U21. As of last week, the team now ranks sixth among the 16 teams in China League One.

Sign up deadline: 4 p.m., Aug. 6

Event: 5:30-7 p.m., Aug. 8

Venue: Lihu Soccer Training Base, Xilihu Road, Nanshan District (南山区西丽湖路丽湖足球训练基地)

Metro: Line 7 to Xili Lake Station (西丽湖站), Exit B

(SD News)