Latest news with #HongKongFootballClub
See - Sada Elbalad
28-05-2025
- Sport
- See - Sada Elbalad
World's No. 2 Ali Farag Retires from Pro Squash
Rana Atef Egypt's four-time World Squash Team Champion and former World No.1 Ali Farag announced his retirement from professional squash. Farag, ranked at No.2 in the PSA World Rankings upon his retirement won World Squash Team Championships on four occasions as well as four PSA World Championship titles. Farewell beautiful game… — Ali Farag (@AliFarag) May 28, 2025 His retirement comes five months after helping Egypt clinch a sixth World Squash Team Championship title after a dramatic battle with Mohamed ElShorbagy at Hong Kong Football Club, and two weeks after winning a silver medal at the PSA World Championships in Chicago. Farag spent 238 weeks at World No.1 between March 2019 – March 2025 and won 46 PSA Squash Tour titles throughout his career, which puts him sixth on the all-time men's winners list. Since making his PSA debut in 2005, Farag played in 81 PSA finals, with a 57 % win rate, while he won 445 of his 553 matches on the PSA Squash Tour. He is the fifth longest-serving men's World No.1 after Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan, Peter Nicol and Geoff Hunt. Farag was a vital part of the Egypt squad that captured a historic double at the 2024 World Squash Team Championships 'I always knew this day would come and I knew it would be very emotional. And it is, but in a good way,' Farag said. 'It's been a long time coming. Ever since Covid, really. When I'd achieved all my goals, I always thought 'What's next for me?' 'Squash been my passion, my identity and my purpose for as long as I can remember, but there was always another part of me, a family man. Now, I'm a husband and a father to two beautiful young girls, one about to turn four and the other born three months ago. I've missed so many of the milestones that I wanted to be there for: the school pickups, the late-night cuddles, the bedtime stories. All of those things that pass too quickly when you're always chasing the next flight, the next match, the next tournament. 'I've always believed in balance, and I feel like the balance has shifted now. This is what I want the next chapter to be. 'I'm walking away at the perfect time. Squash is in a place it has never been and the level is higher than ever in the men's and women's game. Even if I'm not playing, you can count on me always being there as a fan, a supporter and someone who will always love this game.' World Squash President Zena Wooldridge paid tribute to Farag, saying: 'Ali exits the game having earned the respect and admiration of the global squash community and beyond. 'Besides being one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, it is perhaps his grace on and off court that will be most fondly remembered. World Squash, and all who love our sport, owe Ali an enormous debt of gratitude for everything he has done for squash and I wish him the very best of luck in the next chapter of his life.' read more Japan Stun Spain 2-1 to Qualify for World Cup Last 16 World Cup 2022: Get to Know Confirmed Line-ups of Japan and Spain Group E Decider Saudi Arabia Bid Farewell to World Cup after 2-1 Loss to Mexico Tunisia Achieve Historic Win over France but Fail to Qualify Tunisia to Clash against France in World Cup Sports Get to Know Squad of Group D Teams in World Cup Sports Al Ahly Gift EGP 70,000 to Players After Claiming Egyptian Super Cup Title Sports Bencharki Hits First 2 Goals with Al Jazira Since Leaving Zamalek Sports Arsenal Possible Line-up for Nottingham Forest News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies
South China Morning Post
16-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong set to be denied young talent who is targeting World Cup with homeland
Hong Kong football chiefs look set to miss out on adding a gifted young attacker to the city's representative team after he targeted playing in World Cups for his native Switzerland. Aaron Keller moved to Hong Kong when he was three months old because of his Swiss father's instructor job with Cathay Pacific. At the age of 12, he left his family behind to follow his dream of becoming a professional footballer at the German Football Boarding School, where he was a teammate of Michael Udebuluzor – the Hong Kong-born striker who now does play for the city. Keller, who while in Hong Kong was a pupil at Peak School and then attended Harrow, said he learned to love the game at Hong Kong Football Club, which he joined aged eight. He is still in touch with his old coaches, Wilfred Wong, Nam Nguyen and Mark Grainger. But he said: 'If I wanted to take football seriously, I had to go to Europe and through their system.' Keller needed around six months to adapt off the field. On it, he was shocked to discover that being 'one of the more talented players in Hong Kong' did not translate into matching Germany's best youngsters, but he improved with high-quality training, coaching and opposition.
Leader Live
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
Wrexham women all set to compete in big Hong Kong tournament
Steve Dale's Reds will travel to Hong Kong to take part in the HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens Tournament - becoming the first women's side to do so from outside of Asia. The tournament, which introduced a women's competition for the first time in 2024, includes Premier League sides Aston Villa, Brighton and Hove Albion and West Ham United. Wrexham's squad will consist of 10 players, with a number of the Adran U19s North title winners included. These are Chloe Ankers, Grace Morris and Leah Burke, who have all made first team appearances. They will be joined by first team players Lili Jones, Ava Suckley and Erin Lovett, who will add invaluable experience. Mia Roberts, a member of the Wrexham line-up that secured promotion to the Adran Premier, will take the final position in the squad. All league matches in the competition will be played on Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17, with the knockout contests taking place on Sunday, May 18. Joining Wrexham across the three-day tournament will be Hong Kong's TSL, Kitchee and Hong Kong Football Club, alongside Thailand's Chonburi FC Women and Eastern Thunder from Singapore. The top-two sides will go through to the women's cup final, with teams ranked third and fourth playing in the shield final, while the plate final will be contested between the fifth and sixth-placed sides. Matches will last for 14 minutes in total, made up of two seven-minute halves, with a one-minute interval at half-time. Wrexham U19s manager Gareth Owen told the club's website: 'I'd like to say a massive thank you to Hong Kong Football Club for the invitation to play in this year's HKFC Soccer Sevens 2025. 'We are so excited to represent the club out in Hong Kong for what will be not only a fantastic footballing opportunity, but a life experience for them as people. 'The way I see it, there's no point entering into a tournament if you're not planning on giving your everything to win it - who knows, we might just add to the silverware that the club has won this season!' Wrexham AFC CEO Michael Williamson added: 'We are excited to be entering a women's team into the HKFC Soccer Sevens tournament for the first time. 'As well as the opportunity to play in Asia for the very first time as a club, the tournament also provides fast-paced football and high-level opposition to test the players at the end of what has been another successful season on the pitch for our women's section, at both first-team and Under-19s level. 'To be invited to the long-standing and successful tournament is a mark of our growth of the Wrexham brand, and will provide a fantastic opportunity for our young players. 'We're looking forward to taking our place at the HKFC Soccer Sevens.' For more information on the tournament, visit the HK Soccer Sevens site. Wrexham squad: Chloe Ankers; Annie Collins; Grace Morris; Seren Cashen; Leah Burke; Bella Devereux; Lili Jones; Erin Lovett; Ava Suckley; Mia Roberts.
South China Morning Post
07-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's new stadium doesn't need mega-events, just great sports fixtures
I have been a regular at the Hong Kong Sevens ever since the inaugural event in 1976. Last month's tournament at Kai Tak Sports Park was my fourth different venue. Advertisement I still remember that afternoon almost a half-century ago, walking down from my Happy Valley flat to the old Hong Kong Football Club stadium on Sports Road at the suggestion of a neighbour to watch the matches being played. I was immediately hooked and have attended every year since, pandemics permitting. Not surprisingly as it grew in popularity, the tournament outgrew the Football Club ground and moved to the old Government Stadium in So Kon Po. Even that proved insufficient after a few years and a new one had to be built in situ. Dragages designed and built a fine 40,000-seater. That did us proud for many years, but the world moved on and, eventually, so did we. The first thing to strike me about the new facility is the sheer beauty of the structure in engineering terms. Walking in for the first time on the opening Friday night I gasped out loud – it is breathtaking. It makes a bold statement: Welcome to Hong Kong, a world-class city equipped with a world-class venue to stage world-class events. During the long weekend, I tried out different locations to check the experience from a spectator's perspective. Every angle I tested had an excellent, unobstructed view of the action on the pitch. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Jockey Club hopeful Happy Valley races can compliment Hong Kong Sevens week in 2026
Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges was 'cautiously optimistic' the Jockey Club could broker a deal with the Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC) to hold racing at Happy Valley during next year's Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens week. Long one of the real head scratchers of one of the city's biggest weeks, the regular 'Happy Wednesday' party is replaced by a soulless Sha Tin dirt meeting while the HKFC Tradition 10s takes place in the Happy Valley infield. While a few tourists trudged out to Sha Tin last Wednesday, many were left disappointed they could not take in one of Hong Kong's most popular attractions while in town for the rugby. At a time when the Hong Kong government is all in on horse racing tourism – Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui told the Post last week the city was using it to attract high-spending visitors – it seems a no-brainer that officials work together to ensure the Happy Valley races can compliment the 10s and Hong Kong Sevens week. 'The hope next year is that we can make a real racing tourism attraction around the rugby with racing on the Wednesday, hopefully, in the Valley,' said Engelbrecht-Bresges, adding that one of his reasons for optimism was last year's appointment of former Hong Kong China Rugby CEO, Robbie McRobbie, as the Jockey Club's executive manager of charities (sports). 'We have tried this for I don't know how many years but I am a little bit more optimistic that next year maybe it can happen. That would be perfect,' Engelbrecht-Bresges added. 'In the end, it's a decision of the Football Club. They have the right to hold the 10s and if they say no, it's no. There's nothing we can do about it. 'We have made multiple attempts and I can understand they see certain financial [negatives]. I have a little more of an optimistic view that this could be resolved.' The HKFC's hold on that particular Wednesday night is part of a long-standing agreement dating back to when Happy Valley racecourse was expanded in the 1990s and the HKFC's facilities had to be completely rebuilt, with its pitches shifted into the middle of the racecourse. On a normal Wednesday night, the Happy Valley infield is cleared of all sporting activities at least half an hour before the first race. For the racing to take place on the Wednesday of the first day of the 2026 10s, the rugby would have to finish around 6pm – about three hours earlier than it did this year. 'I'm cautiously optimistic we can create a win-win situation and it would be good for Hong Kong,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. 'It's not mission impossible, but one has to see if maybe one can create events for [the HKFC] in their facilities because probably they are afraid everyone goes over [to the races] and then their bars are empty. 'From our side there is flexibility because we don't have to race at that time at Sha Tin, but we have to submit the fixtures to get approval in April or May.' Engelbrecht-Bresges spent Saturday at the Sevens and was full of praise for Kai Tak Stadium. 'I think as a stadium, in principle, it's amazing. The atmosphere I saw was extremely good,' he said. 'I talked to a lot of international guests who were really complimentary. It gives Hong Kong a stage for international tourism and sports events which we didn't have before. It was fantastic.'
