On February 27, 2024, a soccer feast was staged at Hongkou Football Stadium. Shanghai Shenhua beat Shanghai Harbor by a narrow 1-0 margin to win the title. Reporter Yang Yi lamented on social media that although Shenhua fans made up the majority of the 18,561 spectators, their emotions towards Hongkou Football Stadium were exceptionally deep, and that this victory was perhaps the best way to say goodbye to the stadium.
Dating back to December 6, 2019, Shenhua had won the F.A.C. Cup for the third time in its history with a 3-0 victory over Shandong Taishan at Hongkou Football Stadium, winning the final for the second consecutive final with an aggregate score of 3-1.Shenhua had won the F.A.C. Cup for the second consecutive final with a 3-0 victory over Shandong Taishan at Hongkou Football Stadium. However, the shadow of the epidemic caused a three-year hiatus in the Chinese Super League, and the Hongkou Football Stadium was unable to host a professional league match for three consecutive years.In the 2023 season, with the return to normalcy of the competition system, Shenhua FC underwent a shareholding reform, with Jiuzhi Sports, a subsidiary of the Jiuzhi Group, becoming the main operating entity.
Shenhua performed equally well at their new home last season, but many fans still have special feelings for the Hongkou Football Stadium, which was chosen by the CFA as the venue for the Super Cup in the 2024 season, and Shenhua returned to their home ground 1,543 days later to win the title once again in their first match.
Although Shenhua was nominally the visiting team, the passion and enthusiasm of the Shenhua fans among the 18,561 spectators at the scene undoubtedly became the highlight of the game, recreating the "Devil's Home Stadium" style of the Hongkou Football Stadium.
As a neutral stadium for the Super Cup, Hongkou Football Stadium witnessed Shenhua's victory again after 1543 days. For this match, all the facilities and equipment of Hongkou Football Stadium were fully upgraded, from the lighting system to the fire monitoring, to the press center and the players' lounge, all of which reflected the management's careful preparation. Forty-five minutes before the start of the match, Lin Yi, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Shanghai Football Association, personally presented the Hongkou Football Stadium with the Xiu Xiu 20 Award, which brought the event to a successful conclusion.
