Latest news with #HongKongFootball
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong football clubs in dark over new season but pushing ahead with signings
While Hong Kong's best are in South Korea for the East Asian Football Championship, the city's top clubs have been accelerating their preparations for the new campaign. Not that Tai Po, Eastern, Kitchee, Lee Man and the rest know precisely what they are readying themselves for. The local football association has confirmed Eastern District will be promoted into a new 10-team Premier League, as first reported by the Post But there is no word on when the new campaign will begin or the design of the competition. It has been suggested teams could play each other twice before the league is equally split into championship and relegation rounds for a total of 22 matches per side. Last season, which started on August 30, featured nine sides playing each other three times. The least prestigious of the three cup competitions, the Sapling Cup, appears to have breathed its last. Chan Man-chun, the Southern chairman and convenor of the Hong Kong Premier League committee, has floated the idea of reviving the League Cup, which was discontinued in 2016, with no restriction on foreign players. Southern celebrate after thumping Lee Man 4-0 in the 2025 Sapling Cup final. Photo: Nora Tam Various club sources told the Post they remained in the dark over league and cup arrangements for the coming season. This then is what we know the leading teams have been up to.
South China Morning Post
08-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
East Asian Football Championship: do Hong Kong really have no chance?
Ashley Westwood is a stickler for detail, so it was probably no accident that he exaggerated Hong Kong's underdog status on the eve of their first East Asian Football Championship match on Tuesday. 'We're playing three very good teams, two of the best-ranked teams in Asia, and China, a good, strong side,' the city's head coach said in Yongin, on the outskirts of Seoul, as he previewed the opening clash with Japan. As if to emphasise the gulf between his Hong Kong side and the rest, he went on to refer to '15th-ranked Japan, 23 [South] Korea, 93 China, and in the background is us, 159 currently'. In fact, Hong Kong have climbed to No 153 since Westwood took over last August, while China sit slightly lower than claimed, at 94, but the coach and his charges have eagerly cast themselves as happy-go-lucky tourists in their few public utterings since arriving in South Korea on Saturday. Tan Chun-lok (right) is put through his paces during training. Photo: HKFA The 'good, strong' billing Westwood gave China may come as a surprise to supporters of the struggling mainlanders, who began with a 3-0 loss to the Koreans on Monday.
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong ‘crazy guys' among fans flocking to South Korea for East Asian Football Championship
The two major Hong Kong fans groups have begun mobilising ahead of the city team's assault on East Asian Football Championship glory this week. Hundreds of supporters are set to back the team against Japan on Tuesday, and hosts South Korea on Friday, before an expected four-figure travelling army roar on Hong Kong in next week's blockbuster clash with China. The group Chi Sin Lo, 'Crazy Guys' in Cantonese, have around 900 members in a WhatsApp channel launched for the tournament. 'The football culture in Hong Kong is continuously growing,' Calvin Choi, a core Chi Sin Lo member, said. 'About 10 years ago, the [ultra] fans group was 10 people. If you stood up in the stadium, people would ask you to sit down and stop blocking their view. 'Hong Kong people love watching Barcelona or Manchester United, but you're shouting at the TV, the players don't know who you are. When they get in the stadium, they realise it's much more passionate than football on TV. It's happening in front of them. 'People are motivated by the environment. Following Hong Kong, you can talk with the players, and have selfies with them. They remember you. The connection is closer than anywhere else.'
South China Morning Post
04-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Brazil will not be visiting Hong Kong any time soon, says HKFA boss Eric Fok
Eric Fok Kai-shan has revealed that the immediate future of Hong Kong football will feature Eastern District, but not the Brazil national team. Eastern District have been accepted into the Hong Kong Premier League for the 2025-26 season, although Chinese fourth-tier club Canton United's application has been knocked back. Fok, the chairman of the Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA), told the Post: 'Eastern District met all our requirements; they will join the Premier League, so we will have 10 teams next season.' Fok also said Brazil were unlikely to come to Hong Kong any time soon. Paul Chan Mo-po, the financial secretary, recently said he was optimistic the record five-time world champions would visit for a friendly in the near future. Although Fok acknowledged Brazil were 'interested and we would welcome it', he pointed to a congested fixture calendar. Eastern District (in yellow) finished eighth in the 2024-25 First Division. Photo: Chan Kin-wa He said Hong Kong, who have Asian Cup qualifiers in October and November, were already arranging friendlies for the Fifa window in September. The Post has been told the city team are set to return to Fiji for a tournament that could also feature Thailand.
South China Morning Post
02-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
A win for Hong Kong? Hotel offers rooms celebrating city's football team
Ever wanted to spend the night with the Hong Kong football team? Well, here's your chance. The city's football bosses have teamed up with the Park Lane Hong Kong hotel to create three themed guestrooms, and a photography exhibit capturing important moments from the team's history. Fans can go to sleep under the watchful gaze of their heroes, with their heads on Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) pillows and with branded slippers to keep their feet warm. The question, of course, is which one would you pick? The Dragon in Red Premium Room, which takes its inspiration from Hong Kong's first game at Kai Tak Stadium, when 42,000 watched the win over India? The 'Dragon in Red Premium Room' at the Park Lane. Photo: HKFA Or, for the serious supporter, there is the We Are the Hong Kong Boys Family Room, a chance to get into the spirit of things ahead of next week's East Asian Football Championship in South Korea.
