Beijing Guoan Football Club, known internationally as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang District. In early 2021, the shareholders changed from the real estate company Sinobo Group (64%) and CITIC Limited (36%) of CITIC Group to just Sinobo Group (100%). Beijing Guoan is one of the four clubs to have never been relegated from the Chinese top-flight since the Chinese Super League's foundation in 2004.

Shanghai Shenhua Football Club is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium, located within Xuhui District. The owner of Shanghai Shenhua F.C. is Shanghai Jiushi Group, a state-owned cultural and sports operation company in Shanghai. Shanghai Shenhua is one of the four clubs to have never been relegated from the Chinese top-flight since the Chinese Super League's foundation in 2004. The term shen hua literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in English – shen is one of the alternative names for Shanghai and hua means flower in Chinese.