Beijing Institute of Technology F.C.

For the university which this football club represents, see Beijing Institute of Technology.
Beijing Institute of Technology
Běijīng Lǐgōng
北京理工
logo
Full nameBeijing Institute of Technology Football Club
北京理工足球俱乐部
Nickname(s)Student Army (学生军)
Founded1940; 84 years ago (1940) (University)
2000; 24 years ago (2000) (as Beijing Institute of Technology Football Club)
GroundBIT Eastern Athletic Field, Beijing
Capacity5,000
ChairmanLiu Qixiao (刘启孝)
ManagerYu Fei
LeagueChina League Two
2023China League Two, 6th of 16

Beijing Institute of Technology Football Club (Chinese: 北京理工足球俱乐部; pinyin: Běijīng Lǐgōng Zúqiú Jùlèbù), or simply BIT, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in China League Two, the third tier of Chinese football. BIT plays its home matches inside the main Beijing Institute of Technology campus, at the BIT Eastern Athletic Field, located within Haidian District.[1] Their current majority shareholders are Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) and Joan Oliver, who acquired a 29% stake on 5 December 2016.[2][3]

The club was founded in 2000 by the Beijing Institute of Technology initially as a college football team, where they experienced significant success by winning four Chinese Collegiate Championships before deciding to enter the 2006 league campaign at the bottom of the professional Chinese football league pyramid in the third tier. After winning the 2006 division championship the club complied with the requirements of full professionalism by having their full-time students register as professionals, increasing player wages and gaining sponsorship.[4] On 11 April 2017, the club announced a permanent separation between their University team and professional team.[5]

  1. ^ "北京理工足球俱乐部". thecfa.cn. 2017-07-28. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference diarimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference elespanol was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "北理工，夹缝中的足球梦". sports.163.com. 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  5. ^ "Spanish soccer club buys stake in Chinese university club". china.org.cn. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2017-05-23.