Tianjin Tianhai Football Club was a Chinese Super League club based in Tianjin that existed under that name from January 2019 until its dissolution in May 2020. The club’s visual identity in its final period was defined by a new crest introduced in January 2019, following the club’s renaming from Tianjin Quanjian.
Design and History
The Tianjin Tianhai crest was first revealed on January 14, 2019, when the club launched its official Weibo account and used the new emblem as its profile image. The club had been renamed from Tianjin Quanjian to Tianjin Tianhai on January 10, 2019, after the Chinese Football Association approved the change. The new crest was designed to replace the previous Quanjian-era identity entirely, with reports noting that the shape and overall style differed completely from the earlier red, yellow, and blue Quanjian badge.[1][2]
The emblem adopted a shield shape with a blue, white, and red color scheme. The left half featured blue diagonal stripes combined with a football motif, while the right half displayed the red letters “TH,” the pinyin initials for “Tianhai.” The club’s Chinese and English names were also incorporated into the crest.[3][4]
At the time of the crest’s debut, the club had not yet formally released the final version, and reports noted that the emblem shown on the Weibo account might not have been the definitive design.[3] The club’s home and away kits for the new season were expected to use blue and red as their primary colors, matching the new crest’s palette.[5]
Before the Tianhai identity, the club had used several different crests across its history. A retrospective compiled after the club’s dissolution identified four distinct emblems used over the club’s 14-year existence, covering the periods when the team was known as Hohhot Binhai, Tianjin Songjiang, Tianjin Quanjian, and finally Tianjin Tianhai.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
Documented symbolism for the Tianjin Tianhai crest centers on the club’s name and local geography. The blue color corresponded to the character “hai” (sea) in the club’s name. The blue diagonal stripes on the left half of the crest were described as echoing the course of the Hai River, which flows through Tianjin from northwest to southeast. The red “TH” letters stood for the pinyin initials of “Tianhai,” and their slant was designed to align with the angle of the blue stripes. The red color was retained from the club’s previous primary color scheme under the Quanjian identity.[1][2]
The club was officially disbanded on May 12, 2020, after announcing that its financial situation could not support continued operation.[7]
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