China League Two football club, Shenzhen Ledman F.C. released an official announcement on its website and on other official channels on December 1, saying that the club will not participate in the 2019 China League Two season. 

According to the official announcement, because of a change of direction at the investor level, the club has decided not to participate in China League Two for the next season and will instead be committed to Chinese youth football training by collaborating with the Australian A-League side Newcastle United Jets Football Club which has connections with Shenzhen Ledman’s investor. 

All first team players of Shenzhen Ledman F.C. have received notice from the club to terminate their contracts, according to Sina Sports. 

Shenzhen Ledman F.C. was founded by the President of Ledman Optoelectronic Co., Ltd., LI Mantie, in 2015. The other investor of the club as displayed publicly on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System is a person named Li Hong. The club  began playing in China League Two in 2016 and have finished 11th, 4th and 5th respectively over the past three seasons. 

In the meantime it’s also been reported that two other football clubs in China League Two have decided not to participate in the league for the 2019 season. These two clubs are He Lan Shan Football Club in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Hainan Football Club. He Lan Shan Football Cub have published a relevant announcement on its Weibo account. No announcement from Hainan Football Club has been found online. 

Reference: Shenzhen Ledman F.C. 

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick