Leopard Cat Football Club (Chinese: 台灣石虎足球隊; pinyin: Táiwān Shíhǔ Zúqiú Duì), formerly known as Tatung Football Club, is a Taiwanese professional football club based in Taipei,[2][3] that competes in the Taiwan Football Premier League.[4][5] The club, affiliated with the electronics-producing Tatung Company, was founded in 1963 by a group of Tatung employees favoring football activities. They are among the first clubs to be owned by private enterprise on Taiwan.
 | |
| Full name | Leopard Cat Football Club 台灣石虎足球隊 |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Shihu |
| Founded | 1963 (as Tatung Football Club) 2022 (as Leopard Cat Football Club) [1] |
| Ground | Taipei Municipal Stadium |
| Capacity | 20,000 |
| Owner | Tatung Company |
| Chairman | Miao Bo-Ya |
| Manager | Chiang Mu-tsai |
| League | Taiwan Football Premier League |
| 2023 | Taiwan Football Premier League, 2nd of 8 |
History
The club has a long-standing rivalry with Taipower, as both are the most successful and most popular clubs in the country. In recent years, Leopard Cat has proved to be the dominant force on the island by winning the Taiwan Football Premier League three times in a row.[6] In 2006 AFC President's Cup,[7] Tatung reached the semifinals.[8] In 2022, they announced a rebranding, following the consequences of Tatung Company's refusal from supporting the Tatung FC operations. They changed their name from Tatung FC to Leopard Cat, changed their crest, and their official colours, to avoid exclusion, or relegation of the Taiwan Football Premier League. After sufficient funds were raised to enable the team to play the next season in the TFPL, a realization of an election of supervisors and directors, and a general meeting successfully completed, Miao Boya was named the club's chairman. [9]
Current squad
- As of 12 April 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | GK |  TAI | Wang Po-han |
| 24 | FW | TAI | Lo Chih-en |
| 25 | MF |  PHI | Nathan Rilloraza |
| 29 | FW | TAI | Chen Po-hao |
| 30 | FW | TAI | Lo Chih-an |
| 31 | DF | TAI | Chao Wei-chieh |
| 32 | GK | TAI | Chen Yu-chang |
| 35 | DF | TAI | Shih Cheng-hsi |
| 37 | MF |  JPN | Taiyo Izumi |
| 39 | GK | TAI | Hung Wei-hsiang |
| 41 | DF | TAI | Lai Yu-an |
| 45 | MF | TAI | Huang Guo-fu |
Technical staff
| Name | Nationality | Position(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Technical staff | ||
| Chiang Mu-tsai | | Head coach |
| Wang Chun-lung | | Assistant coach |
| Kao Hao-chieh | | Assistant coach |
| Hung Shih-cheng | | Assistant coach |
Continental record
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | AFC President's Cup | Group A |  Pakistan Army Football Club | 4–1 | 2nd | |
 Khemara Kelia FC | 1–5 | |||||
 Transport United | 5–0 | |||||
| Semifinal |  FC Khatlon | 1–3 | ||||
| 2007 | AFC President's Cup | Group B |  Mahendra Police Club | 0–0 | 4th | |
| Khemara Kelia FC | 0–1 | |||||
 Dordoi Dynamo | 0–5 | |||||
| 2014 | AFC President's Cup | Group B |  HTTU Ashgabat | 0–2 | 4th | |
| Ceres-Negros FC | 0–2 | |||||
 Rimyongsu Sports Club | 0–5 | |||||
| 2017 | AFC Cup | Qualifying Group C | F.C. Tertons | 0-0 | 2nd | |
 Sheikh Russell KC | 1–1 | |||||
| 2020 | AFC Cup | Group I |  Chao Pak Kei | 2nd | ||
 Tai Po | ||||||
 Winners of Play-off East Asia |
Honours
Domestic
- Taiwan Football Premier League
- Intercity Football League
- Enterprise Football League[11]
- CTFA Cup
- Champions (3): 1990, 1996, 2005
- President's Cup
- Champions (2): 1997, 1998
- Enterprise Football League is formerly known as National Men's First Division Football League.
Invitational
- Peace Invitational Challenge Cup: 2006
- World Chinese Cup Invitational Championship: 2005
- Hawaii Challenge Cup: 2005