Sports
The Shandong Luneng Football Club is the most widely known sports team in Jinan. The club currently plays at the highest tier of Chinese football, the Chinese Super League. The Shandong Luneng Football Club is one of four clubs which have been playing in Chinese top football league every season since the league turned professional in 1994. Since 1994 the club has won 9 titles: Top League Champions (1999, 2006, 2008, 2010), FA Cups (1995, 1999, 2004, 2006), and CSL Cup (2004).
The most renowned basketball team in Jinan are the Shandong Golden Lions. Like the football team, the Shandong Golden Lions have been playing in the Chinese top basketball league for all the seasons (13 for basketball) since the league turned professional in 1995. The team's best season was 1997–1998 when it finished 3rd place. In the 2007–2008 season, the Shandong Golden Lions also reached the 3rd place at the end of the season, but they were knocked out at the first round of the playoffs.
In 2009, Jinan hosted the 11th National Games of the People's Republic of China, the premier sports event at the national level in China and the first major multi-sports event held in China after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The National Games' main venue was the Jinan Olympic Sports Center.
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Famous quotes containing the word sports:
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—Gayle Gardner, U.S. sports reporter. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 87 (June 17, 1991)
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—Christine H. B. Grant, U.S. university athletic director. As quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A42 (May 12, 1993)
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—Lesley Visser, U.S. sports reporter and announcer. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 82 (June 17, 1991)