The club's predecessor was the municipal-run semi-pro club Shanghai F.C.. The team predominantly played in the top tier, where they won several domestic league and cup titles. On 10 December 1993 the club was reorganized to become a completely professional football club so they could play in the 1994 Chinese Jia-A League season making them one of the founding members of the first fully professional top-tier league in China. Since then, they have won one league title and three Chinese FA Cups.