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Football in Hong Kong

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Football is the most popular sport in Hong Kong.[1][2][3]

History

The first football competition of Hong Kong is the Challenge Shield, which founded in 1898. Its format is similar to the FA Challenge Cup in England. The first football club of Hong Kong is Hong Kong Football Club, usually known as The Club, founded in 1886. The Club is one of the oldest existing football clubs in Asia. Hong Kong Football League was founded in 1908. The governing body of Hong Kong football, The Hong Kong Football Association was founded in 1914.

In the 1970s and 1980s, football in Hong Kong was strong and popular, with competitive local teams boosted by well known overseas players and managers, playing in front crowds of tens of thousands.

In 1985, in a famous match, Hong Kong overcame favourites China, 2-1, in Beijing, to move towards a place in the 1986 World Cup, though ultimately it was not to be.[4]

League system

Main article: Hong Kong football league system

First Division League

The Hong Kong First Division League, founded in 1908, was the first professional football league in Asia. It is currently the top division football league in Hong Kong. The First Division League is contested between 10 teams in the recent seasons, but will be contested between 12 teams starting from the 2013—14 season. For the 2012—13 season, the bottom club is relegated to the Hong Kong Second Division League, while three top clubs of Second Division League is promoted.

Lower Division leagues

Lower division leagues are formed by Second Division League, Third Division League and Fourth Division League. Most of the teams are semi-professional, or even amateur.

Reserves League

The reserves league is formed by the First Division League clubs' reserves teams each season. First team members are also allowed to participate in the reserves league. However, the reserves league is set to dissolved and will be replaced by different age groups of youth leagues.

Cup competitions

There are several cup competitions for clubs at different levels of the football pyramid. The most important cup competition is the Senior Challenge Shield, with the winners of those competitions qualifying for the AFC Cup.

  • The Senior Challenge Shield, established in 1896, is the oldest football knockout inter-club competition in Asia. Usually only the teams in First Division would enter into the competition. However, sometimes teams in lower divisions (usually the champion of Junior Shield) are invited to increase the number of participating teams.
  • The FA Cup, established in 1974, is Hong Kong's second major cup competition. It was contested by clubs competing in First Division, Second Division and Third Division. Since 1981, the cup has been limited to top-flight teams due to the huge difference in playing level between the First Division and the inferior levels below it.
  • The Junior Challenger Shield, established in 1922, is the major cup for clubs playing in levels 2–4 of the football pyramid.

There have also been a number of other cup competitions which are no longer run:

  • The League Cup(2000–2009, 2010–2012) is an annual football competition contested by clubs in the First Division League. It was being discontinued in the 2009-10 season but was relaunched for the 2010-11 season. However, the cup is discontinued again in the 2012-13 season.
  • The Viceroy Cup (1969–98) was the first footabll competition in Hong Kong which allowed business sponsorship.

National team

Main article: Hong Kong national football team

The Hong Kong national football team represents Hong Kong in international football events. The team competed their first international match in 1947 against South Korea during the colonial period. Even after 1997 the transfer of sovereignty to China, it continues to represent Hong Kong separately from the People's Republic of China as its own national team in international competitions due to the "One country, two systems" principle. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, the closing time was during the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification, which is also marked as their most successful period between the 1970s and 1980s. The Hong Kong Football Team is ranked 144th on the FIFA world rankings, as of November 2013.

References

  1. ^ Chan Kin-wa kinwa.chan@scmp.com (2014-01-24). "'Football will die' in Hong Kong without funding under Project Phoenix | South China Morning Post". Scmp.com. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  2. ^ "Time Out Hong Kong | Big Smog | Hong Kong news, current affairs, politics and social issues | Tackling the football crisis". Timeout.com.hk. 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  3. ^ SCMP Editorial (2014-01-24). "Soccer in Hong Kong needs to clean up its act to win back fans | South China Morning Post". Scmp.com. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  4. ^ Will Hong Kong ever reach a World Cup .. ?, SCMP, 8 June 2014
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