Evergrande Taobao, the football club in which Alibaba invested last year, is seeking an initial public offering on China's nascent over-the-counter equity exchange. The Hong Kong-listed property developer has filed an application to list the loss-making football team on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations Co. (NEEQ).

As per Reports, Evergrande Real Estate in June raised its stake in the football club to 60%. According to a filing to the NEEQ, Alibaba, which earlier had a stake for a 50% now, has only 40% in the team.

Evergrande Taobao, formerly called Guangzhou Evergrande, is one of China's most successful football clubs. It was the first Chinese team to win the Asian Football Confederation Champions in 2013.

However, the team later suffered losses approximately of 265 million yuan during the January-May period. Experts said that the team faced losses as it brought in some top players and coaches.

In June it announced that the Brazilian world cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will lead the team, replacing its former Italian national team coach Marcello Lippi.

Evergrande Real Estate said, "The listing of Evergrande Taobao will enhance the liquidity of its equity interest, thus facilitating the introduction of strategic investors, promotion of corporate image and realization of sustainable development".

It has been said that soccer in some recent past years have also received vocal support from Chinese President Xi Jinping. The country in March issued a national plan to revive the sport, which somehow failed due to 'defective' management system.

China's men's team presently ranks 83rd in the world.