Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

For the past few weeks, Chinese football fans have been discussing reports that Shanghai Shenhua Football Club will leave its home city.

Established in 1993, Shenhua was one of the first professional teams of China's top tier football league and traces its semi-professional roots in the city back to 1951. The name "Shenhua" literally means Shanghai's flower. But now, Shanghai's flower may well be uprooted.

Although the news has not been confirmed by Shenhua itself, multiple sources report that a move is imminent. Yao Yunqing, the owner of Dali Ruilong Football Club, told Soccer News he facilitated a 30-million-yuan ($4.93 million) investment in Shenhua from an unnamed company based in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. According to local media reports, one of the requirements set by the Kunming enterprise is Shenhua moving its home field from Hongkou Football Stadium to Kunming.

Not surprisingly, many Shenhua fans are not happy about the news. They have strong affection for Shenhua, regarding it as a symbol of the city just as Manchester United is inextricably linked with the English city.

However, the success of a football club depends on more than fans alone. Without strong financial support, a club cannot function smoothly. During the past year, Shenhua met severe financial difficulties. The club was late in paying wages, resulting in high-profile signing Didier Drogba leaving the team after playing for just six months of a two-year contract.

But even though Shanghai is China's financial capital, no local companies stepped up to offer financial support. Instead it is reportedly a business based in Kunming that has promised much-needed investment.

In addition to Shenhua, Shanghai is also represented by two other clubs in the Chinese Super League, the nation's top division. Shanghai Shenxin Football Club play at Pudong's Yuanshen Sports Center Stadium and East Asia Football Club are the home team at Shanghai Stadium in Xuhui district. Sentimental local football fans may root for the city's oldest team, but Shanghai companies looking to invest in a club do have a choice. Business is business.

A case in point is East Asia, which last year signed a 40-million-yuan sponsorship deal with Shanghai International Port Group Co Ltd to play under the name Shanghai SIPG during the 2013 season. Although the club, which was founded in 2005, had only just won promotion to the Chinese Super League at the end of the 2012 season, Shanghai SIPG finished in ninth place this year, only one ranking below Shenhua. In fact, it was East Asia's relatively new face and clean history that attracted local investment. By contrast, Shenhua had been deeply involved in China's football corruption scandal and earlier this year was stripped of its 2003 league title for match-fixing.

Shenhua's rumored re-location may well be good for the scandal-plagued club. Other teams have been reborn after a move, especially in Asian countries where football culture is not as strong as it is in Europe.

FC Seoul, the runners up of this year's AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Champions League, was founded in Cheongju in 1983 and finished first in the Korean Super League in 1985. In 1990, the club relocated to Seoul, then moved to Anyang several years later, before returning to the South Korean capital in 2004. Local fans of FC Seoul protested every time the team moved, but the club's steady achievements every year has won it fans all over the country.

It is believed that the promised three-year stable investments from Kunming will give Shenhua the funding it needs to focus on training and matches. If Shenhua rises again, it will surely attract the interest of Shanghai companies and the club can return home.