# Wuhan Three Towns F.C.

Wuhan Three Towns Football Club (Chinese: 武汉三镇足球俱乐部; pinyin: Wǔhàn Sānzhèn Zúqiú Jùlèbù) is a Chinese professional football club based in Wuhan, Hubei, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Wuhan Three Towns plays its home matches at the Wuhan Sports Center, located within Caidian District. Wuhan Three Towns had remarkably gone from playing in the fourth division of Chinese football, to winning the 2022 Chinese Super League in a matter of five years, and had won the league title for each of the top three divisions on its climb up the pyramid.

## History
### Early history

The club was established as Wuhan Shangwen (Simplified Chinese: 武汉尚文) in 2013 by the Wuhan Football Association and private investment from the Wuhan Benhui Group, to mainly focus on the development of youth players. In 2018, the club started to participate in the Wuhan Super League, and finished second right behind Wuhan Chufeng Heli. They also participated in the 2018 Chinese Champions League, and made it to the final round of 16 before being eliminated by Nanjing Shaye.

### Road to winning the Super League

Ranking 11th in the 2018 Chinese Champions League, the club was later admitted into 2019 China League Two to fill the gap left by a withdrawn team, right after changing their name to Wuhan Three Towns F.C. in January 2019.
Albert Garcia Xicota would be appointed head coach of the club for the 2019 China League Two season and finished eleventh at the end of the season. The following campaign with the club, he would go on to guide them in winning the division title and promotion into the second tier. In July 2021, Pedro Morilla was appointed as caretaker manager of the club; he had previously worked as techniques director. In December 2021, he was promoted to manager for winning 14 matches in a row. This achievement would see Wuhan going on to win the 2021 China League One division and promotion to the top tier.
On 31 December 2022, Wuhan Three Towns won the 2022 Chinese Super League for the first time after several fixtures were cancelled due to a national COVID-19 outbreak. They were awarded a 3–0 win against Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, who had forfeited due to sick players, and had a better goal difference than Shandong Taishan to top the table.
On 17 June 2023, Morilla stepped down from his role after only 3 wins from the first 12 league games of the season. Japanese coach Tsutomu Takahata was appointed as his successor on the following day.
On 28 August 2023, the club's investors announced their intention to withdraw funding from the team, as well as selling it for free.

### AFC Champions League debut

Wuhan Three Towns finished as league champions in the 2022 Chinese Super League season saw them qualified for the 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage for the first time in the club history. They are drawn in group J with Urawa Red Diamonds, Pohang Steelers and Vietnamese club, Hanoi FC. On 20 September 2023, Wuhan Three Towns played their first ever AFC Champions League match against the defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds, which ended in a 2–2 draw at home.

## Name history

* 2013–2018 Wuhan Shangwen F.C. 武汉尚文
* 2019–present Wuhan Three Towns F.C. 武汉三镇

## Current squad
### First team

    As of February 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | CHN | Wei Minzhe |
| 2 | DF | CHN | He Guan (on loan from Shanghai Port) |
| 3 | DF | CHN | Shewketjan Tayir |
| 5 | DF | KOR | Park Ji-soo |
| 6 | MF | CHN | Long Wei |
| 7 | MF | BRA | Gustavo Sauer |
| 8 | MF | CHN | Wang Jinxian |
| 9 | FW | ROU | Alexandru Tudorie |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Darlan |
| 11 | FW | COL | Manuel Palacios |
| 12 | DF | CHN | Liao Chengjian |
| 13 | MF | CHN | Zheng Kaimu |
| 14 | GK | CHN | Shao Puliang |
| 15 | DF | CHN | Chen Zhechao |
| 16 | DF | CHN | Zou Zhenxiang |
| 18 | DF | CHN | Liu Yiming |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | CHN | Liu Yue |
| 23 | DF | CHN | Ren Hang |
| 25 | DF | CHN | Deng Hanwen |
| 26 | DF | CHN | Zhang Tao |
| 27 | FW | CHN | Liu Yiheng |
| 28 | DF | ITA | Denny Wang |
| 29 | FW | CHN | Zheng Haoqian |
| 30 | MF | CHN | Zhong Jinbao |
| 32 | DF | CHN | You Wenjie |
| 41 | MF | CHN | Xia Xiaoxi |
| 44 | FW | CHN | Tan Jiaye |
| 45 | GK | CHN | Guo Jiayu |
| 47 | MF | CHN | Min Zixi |
| 52 | DF | CHN | Yu Tianxiang |
| 56 | DF | CHN | Zhang Zhenyang |
| 58 | DF | CHN | Ruan Jingwei |
| 60 | GK | CHN | Chen Xing |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | COL | Danilo Arboleda |
| 36 | DF | CHN | Lin Wenjie |
| 39 | DF | CHN | Luo Kui |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 47 | DF | CHN | Tian Chenglong |
| 52 | DF | CHN | Lin Kejun |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | CHN | Chen Yuhao (at Qingdao West Coast until 31 December 2025) |
| — | MF | CHN | Zhang Hui (at Nanjing City until 31 December 2025) |
| — | DF | CHN | Yu Tianle (at Hubei Istar until 31 December 2025) |
| — | MF | CHN | Xia Zihao (at Hubei Istar until 31 December 2025) |
| — | MF | CHN | Xiong Jizheng (at Hubei Istar until 31 December 2025) |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Filipe Martins |
| Assistant coach | Arnau Navarro |
| Assistant coach | Deng Zhuoxiang |
| Goalkeeping coach | Martin Ruiz |
| Team official | Long Jing Sun Zhongkai |
| Team manager | Yu Chen |
Source: CFA

## Managerial history

* Zeng Qinggao (2018)
* Albert Garcia Xicota (2019–2021)
* Pedro Morilla (2021) (caretaker)
* Pedro Morilla (2021–2023)
* Tsutomu Takahata (2023)
* Ricardo Rodríguez (2024)
* Filipe Martins (2025-)

## Notable players

The following players had international caps for their respective countries.

## Honours

League
* Chinese Super League
** Champions (1): 2022
* China League One
** Champions (1): 2021
* China League Two
** Champions (1): 2020
Cup
* Chinese FA Super Cup
** Champions (1): 2023

## Results

All-time league rankings
As of the end of 2023 season.
| Year | Div | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | FA Cup | Super Cup | AFC | Att./G | Stadium |
| 2018 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 9 | Group Stage | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | | Tazi Lake Sports Centre |
| 2019 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 52 | 11 | R1 | DNQ | DNQ | | Hankou Cultural Sports Centre |
| 2020 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 24 | 1 | R1 | DNQ | DNQ | | Hankou Cultural Sports Centre |
| 2021 | 2 | 34 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 73 | 25 | 48 | 79 | 1 | R4 | DNQ | DNQ | | Hankou Cultural Sports Centre |
| 2022 | 1 | 34 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 91 | 28 | 63 | 78 | 1 | QF | DNQ | DNQ | | Wuhan Sports Centre |
| 2023 | 1 | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 51 | 35 | 16 | 51 | 7 | R4 | Winners | GS | 15,866 | Wuhan Sports Centre |
| 2024 | 1 | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 31 | 44 | −13 | 31 | 11 | R4 | DNQ | DNQ | | Wuhan Sports Centre |
* ^1 In group stage.
Key

### Continental results

| Season | Competition | Round | Opposition | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 2023–24 | AFC Champions League | Group J | Urawa Red Diamonds | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4th out of 4 |
| 2023–24 | AFC Champions League | Group J | Pohang Steelers | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4th out of 4 |
| 2023–24 | AFC Champions League | Group J | Hanoi FC | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4th out of 4 |

## Affiliated clubs

* Shonan Bellmare (2022–present)