Hong Kong FC (football)

The football section of Hong Kong Football Club (Abbreviation: HKFC; Chinese: 香港足球會) fields a range of teams at various age divisions in the Hong Kong leagues.[1] The first team currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League.[2]

HKFC
港會
Full nameHong Kong Football Club
Nickname(s)Chinese: 港會
Short nameHKFC
FoundedFebruary 12, 1886 (1886-02-12)
GroundHong Kong Football Club Stadium
Capacity2,750
ChairmanTony Sealy
ManagerTony Hamilton-Bram
LeagueHong Kong Premier League
2021–22HKPL, 6th of 8

History

While the football team has won many titles in the second-tier competition in recent years, they have rarely enjoyed success when playing against professional sides in the First Division. In 1980 however, "CLUB" as they were commonly known, did manage to avoid relegation from the professional First Division for the first time in their history. One of the highlights of the season was a 1–1 draw with eventual Champions Seiko SA. On 10 May 1980 at the HK Government Stadium CLUB defeated Kui Tan 1–0 with an 87th-minute penalty scored by John McGunnigle, meaning Kui Tan joined Yuen Long in the drop that year.

In the past few years, HKFC opted not to take promotion to the First Division. In 2006, finally, the club accepted the promotion after winning the Second Division. After showing initial promise, they lost 4 league matches in a row between March and April 2007 and were relegated to the Second Division. They did however become champions of the Second Division again in April 2010 and returned to the First Division. Therefore, HKFC is known as the yo-yo club in Hong Kong.

Uprise to the Hong Kong Premier League

In 2016, two years after the establishment of the fully professional Hong Kong Premier League, HKFC finally decided to seek promotion to the top flight after finishing as runners-up behind Tai Po in the 2015–16 season. Their stay in the top flight only lasted a single season. Their first HKPL season saw them only collect 2 wins and 6 points in 20 league games and saw themselves finishing bottom of the league with a staggering -64 goal difference. The club also recorded one of the biggest losses in their history with a 10-0 thumping to Kitchee,[3] becoming the highest scoring match of the season.

HKFC won the First Division for the first time in a century during the 2017–18 season, going unbeaten throughout the entire league campaign. The club declined promotion as they did not want to field a professional side.[4][5]

Return to the Hong Kong Premier League

After being crowned champions of the 2020–21 Hong Kong First Division League, on 19 August 2021, HKFC accepted the HKFA's invitation to be promoted to the 2021–22 Hong Kong Premier League, after the withdrawals of Happy Valley and Pegasus, having last appeared five years ago in the 2016–17 season.[6][7][8] The team then signed experienced players such as Brian Fok, To Chun Kiu, Oliver Laxton and Chris Chung to add quality to the squad in pre-season. [9] Following the season being cut-off by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the club by then had recorded a 6th place finish in the league with 4 rounds in and 1 point. A poor showing in the 2021-22 Sapling Cup and FA Cup did not help much as they lacked quality.

Prior to the start of the 2022-23 Hong Kong Premier League, the club announced the crucial signings of striker Paul Ngue,[10] others such as Alex Dujardin, Siu Ka Ming, Ng Tsz Chung, Emmet Wan, and Jack Sealy were brought in to help restructure the senior squad and increase their chances of survival. [11][12] The club then bid farewell to goalkeeper To Chun Kiu, who left for fellow Premier League club Sham Shui Po and defender Brian Fok who retired. [13] A number of youth talents from the club's youth teams were promoted, notably Timothy Chow, Raphael Merkies [14] and goalkeeper Justin Fung.

The team would collect all 3 points in their season opener to Sham Shui Po in a 1-0 victory with a penalty scored by Paul Ngue to settle the score. [15] HKFC, however, fell short in their second game as they fell to a 5-0 thumping by Kitchee in the Senior Challenge Shield. [16] HKFC then saw the arrival of experienced attacking player Paulinho joining the team with him making his debut in a historical 4-2 comeback to Tai Po FC in a 2022-23 Sapling Cup game, scoring twice and assisting Henry Moore for the equalizing goal. [17][18]

On February 5th, 2023, goalkeeper Freddie Toomer became the first goalkeeper in the Hong Kong Premier League history to score a goal as he netted an acrobatic bicycle kick in the 90+6 minute to help the club equalize and salvage a point in a 1–1 draw to Resources Capital. [19] The match between Kitchee and HKFC at HKFC Stadium became the first game in the club's history to become a sellout, however, HKFC came on the losing end in a 3-0 humbling. [20]

Following the club's 2–0 victory over Sham Shui Po on 19 February 2023, the club broke their records as they recorded a 21-point finish following the game, breaking the former record of 20 points in the top-tier league way back in 1963. [21] Following their 1-0 loss to Eastern and the confirmation of their final league position, it was announced that another record had been broken as they had made history by finishing in 6th place, 5 places above than the original record of 11th place back in the 2016-17 Hong Kong Premier League season. The club then finished the season on a high with a 2-1 victory over Southern District with goals from Thiago Silva and Timothy Chow sealing the victory, the match was also the final professional game for club legend Freek Schipper and veteran striker Shunsuke Nakamura.

HKFC Soccer Sevens

The team is known outside Hong Kong for being the host of the annual HKFC Soccer Sevens youth-team seven-a-side tournament which attracts high-profile teams such as Manchester United, Aston Villa and Celtic.

Following a 3-year postponement, it was announced the soccer sevens would make a return in 2023, with teams such as Brighton, Fulham, and Glasgow Rangers youth teams invite to the tournament. [22] Les Ferdinand was also invited as the main guest of the drawing of teams during the 2023 edition of the tournament. He was spotted overseeing youth teams of HKFC and even interacted with some of the youth players.

Stadium

Hong Kong Football Club Stadium
Main article: Hong Kong Football Club Stadium

The stadium was situated adjacent to the racecourse. But in 1995, as part of a redevelopment of the racecourse, the club moved into a brand new, 64,000 square meter, purpose-built home, with the main building being outside the race track, and the main pitch, all-weather hockey pitch, bowling green, and sports bar being inside the racetrack. [23] The stadium is currently used for the club's youth pathways teams, senior and youth rugby team and also serves as the home stadium of Lucky Mile FC. Aside from hosting regular league games, the stadium is also the host stadium of the annual HKFC Soccer Sevens which is a seven-a-side tournament with teams joining all over the world.

The stadium holds a home sellout record of 1720 sold tickets during the 3-0 defeat of HKFC against Kitchee in the 2022-23 Hong Kong Premier League season.

Pitchside view of the HKFC Stadium, October 2022

Players

Current Squad
As of 5 March 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Freddie Toomer
4 DF Hong Kong HKG Alexandre Dujardin
6 MF England ENG Adam Bailey
7 FW Scotland SCO Robert Scott LP
10 MF France FRA Antoine Sahaghian
12 DF Hong Kong HKG Timothy Chow
14 MF Hong Kong HKG Ng Tsz Chung
15 MF Scotland SCO Marcus McMillan
16 MF Hong Kong HKG Emmet Wan
17 FW Hong Kong HKG Wong Sheung Choi
18 DF Hong Kong HKG Jack Sealy
19 MF France FRA Raphaël Merkies
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF Hong Kong HKG Siu Ka Ming
21 GK Hong Kong HKG Fung Long Hin
22 DF England ENG Rory Lonergan
23 MF Australia AUS Thomas Busby
24 MF France FRA Rémi Depalmas
25 FW Hong Kong HKG Paul Ngue
26 FW Brazil BRA Léo
28 MF Brazil BRA Jean Maciel
30 MF Hong Kong HKG Paulinho
31 MF Hong Kong HKG Yue Yixing
32 MF Guinea GUI Habib Bah
85 GK Japan JPN Issey Maholo
88 DF England ENG Martin Fray
91 MF Brazil BRA Thiago

Remarks:
LP These players are considered as local players in Hong Kong domestic football competitions.

Club officials

Soccer Section Committee
Position Staff
ChairmanMark Grainger
CaptainGraeme Lane
RepresentativeNigel Merritt
SecretaryJun Li
TreasurerAudrey Menard
Membership SecretaryIvan Hung
Social Convener Mia Williams
Communications Officer Adrian Martin
Section Coach England Tony Hamilton-Bram
First Team Representative Netherlands Freek Schipper
Lucky Mile Representative Japan Shinnosuke Kawasaki
Junior Soccer Representative Nam Nguyen

Coaching Staff
Position Staff
Head coachEngland Tony Hamilton-Bram
Assistant coachEngland Stewart Montgomery
Assistant coachHong Kong John Pimlott
Assistant coachHong Kong Anto Grabo
Goalkeeping coachHong Kong Justin Wah
Technical coachEngland Stephen Tucker-Roberts

Citation [24]

Sponsors
Kit Supplier Main Sponsor Youth Section Sponsor Soccer Sevens Sponsor
Germany Adidas Hong Kong The Executive Center Hong Kong AIA Hong Kong Citibank

Affilated Clubs

Lucky Mile is the B or 2nd team of the HKFC Soccer Section and has used the club's membership since the late 1990's. The club now competes in the Hong Kong Second Division and is lead by coach Rich Le-Gallez alongside assistant managers King-Yu Leung and Chun Sean Ko.

Honours

League

Cup Competitions

See also

References
  1. Hong Kong FC | Worldfootball
  2. "Team info: Hong Kong Football Club". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  3. 體路 (7 April 2017). "【港超聯】傑志10蛋狂炒港會創港超紀錄". 體路 Sportsroad. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  4. "梁孔德稱流浪無申請留級 元朗前途未決". Apple Daily. Retrieved 8 May 2018. (in Chinese)
  5. "【港超聯賽】傾向來季維持10隊參賽 足總主席梁孔德：港會不打算升班". www.upower.com.hk (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 16 April 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  6. "HKFC to professionalize, rejoin top flight". 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  7. "港會升超 足總擬「香港08」翻生湊夠8隊". www.inmediahk.net. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  8. "港超︱下季港超隊數「坐七望八」 傳港會相隔4季升班 菁英盃擬再改制 (15:58) - 20210809 - 體育". 明報新聞網 - 即時新聞 instant news (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  9. "港超︱升班馬港會認組軍倉卒 門將屠俊翹跟操上陣 友賽僅負晉峰 (20:16) - 20210905 - 體育". 明報新聞網 - 即時新聞 instant news (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  10. "香港超級聯賽 Hong Kong Premier League - 【球員介紹—基奧】 新一季港超聯，前鋒球員基奧將會效力港會。基奧喺熱身賽有唔錯嘅表現，嚟緊會唔會喺比賽場上見到佢入波呢？ #HKPL #HKPL #香港超級聯賽 #HKPLISHERE #球隊介紹 #港會 | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  11. 袁志浩 (26 August 2022). "港超聯2022/23球隊分析：香港U23與港會遭看淡 仍有自信殺入中游". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 6 May 2023.
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  17. "機緣巧合加盟港會 福保羅再創驚喜". on.cc東網 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 31 January 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  18. "菁英盃 福保羅入兩球：好難忘！". on.cc東網 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 6 November 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  19. "港超聯 門將費查補時入波 港會1比1逼和晉峰". on.cc東網 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 5 February 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  20. "港超｜傑志作客大勝港會 今季首掛紅旗1720人坐滿地獄球場 (18:44) - 20230226 - 體育". 明報新聞網 - 即時新聞 instant news (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 30 April 2023.
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  22. "港會七人賽5月尾重臨 多支英超球會派隊參賽 | 足球周刊 Football Weekly HK". 26 April 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  23. Twydell, Dave (1994). The Little Red Book of Chinese Football. Yore Publications. ISBN 1-874427-80-1.
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