Yau Yee League Masters return for a second straight year after a run that took them to the Cup semi-finals last time around. A second-place finish in their group behind Wallsend Boys Club, following wins over playonPROS and HKFC Chairman’s select and a draw with KCC Veterans, took the Yau Yee League Masters into the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by eventual champions Citi All Stars.
The run to the last four followed on from their success in the final of the Plate competition 12 months earlier, when they defeated KCC Veterans after another strong campaign, which saw them hand Citi All Stars their only defeat of the competition when the teams met in the group phase.
A third place finish in the group set up the meeting with KCC Veterans in the Plate final and, after a goalless encounter, Yau Yee League Masters won the competition in a penalty shootout. The Yau Yee League is Hong Kong’s top amateur league and their representative team in the Masters tournament features many of the best senior players from the competition.
Before last year, previous best performances had come in 2009 and 2010, when Yau Yee League Masters reached back-to-back plate finals.
Established 1852, the Singapore Cricket Club is one of the premier sports clubs in Singapore. SCC is represented by two teams in the HKFC Soccer Sevens 2023, SCC Singapore Football League (SFL) team for the main tournament and SCC Masters team in the masters tournament. SCC has been in this tournament for over 5 years.
The SCC Masters team, which competes in several domestic football leagues, comprised ex-professional footballers and players who were formerly from the SCC SFL team.
Tournament regulars KCC Veterans return to the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens once more, since the last edition of the competition in 2019. They have a long-established history in the event and this year have signed-up the Leicester City Premier League Winning Defender, Danny Simpson, who joins KCC for the 2023 edition. Danny follows a long list of former players including Chelsea, West Ham and England International Carton Cole, Liverpool and England International legend John Barnes, ex-Scotland International and Everton forward Pat Nevin and former Northern Ireland International and Wimbledon striker Lawrie Sanchez, all who have represented the Club. The KCC Veterans reached the final of the Plate competition in both 2015 and 2016, losing to HKFC Chairman’s Select and Discovery Bay in respective years. KCC have also previously won the second-tier competition in 2009, by defeating Yau Yee League Masters 2-0 in the final. Their best-ever performances were in 2008 and 2011 when they advanced beyond the group stage to make the Cup quarter-finals. This year the team will be coached by the Hong Kong National Team Asst. Coach, Wolfgang Lussier and KCC are excited to be involved again in Hong Kong’s best Football 7’s Tournament.
The HKFC Masters team is honoured to be one of the two teams representing the Hong Kong Football Club in the upcoming annual seven-a-side event. Following a four-year break, the team has been working tirelessly to prepare for the tournament and is excited to represent the club once again. Although the results didn’t go their way in 2019, the players are optimistic that this year’s competition will be both enjoyable and successful.
The HKFC Chairman’s Select team regularly participates in the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens tournament. After a disappointing performance in the 2019 event, the team is determined to bounce back and make a strong showing this year. With their sights set on being competitive, the Chairman’s Select team has been working hard to improve their game and is eager to take the field. Along with the other HKFC team, the Chairman’s Select team hopes to represent the club and play some high-quality football proudly.
The PFA are delighted to be providing the Citibank Allstars for the Hong Kong Soccer 7s once again.
This partnership has been going for 21 years with many former Professional players from all divisions in the English leagues taking part.
Established 1852, the Singapore Cricket Club is one of the premier sports clubs in Singapore. SCC is represented by two teams in the HKFC Soccer Sevens 2023, SCC Singapore Football League (SFL) team for the main tournament and SCC Masters team in the masters tournament. SCC has been in this tournament for over 5 years.
The SCC SFL team competes in the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Singapore Football League One (SFL 1). In 2022, the Club picked up several accolades at the 2022 FAS Sports Awards Night, including the FAS Recognition Award, Top Goal Scorer Award and Fair Play Award. The former Head Coach and current Club Captain were also one of three nominees for the FAS SFL Coach of the Year and Player of the Year awards respectively. In 2023, SCC SFL team kicked off its pre-season campaign by finishing runners-up at the annual Royal Bangkok Sports Club (RBSC) Soccer Sevens and is currently in the midst of its 2023 SFL season. The SCC SFL team, led by Head Coach and former Singapore international Steven Tan, is expected to challenge for honours domestically. The team comprised some of the brightest young talents as well as former professionals.
Hong Kong Football Club are delighted to welcome everyone back to the World’s Number 1 Seven’s competition.The hosts have just completed an astonishing season in the top flight where they defeated every single professional side bar the top 2.
They hope to continue thriving in that underdog role given the draw has presented both Newcastle Utd and Leicester City in the group of Death.The squad is the strongest the HKFC have ever had and the home fans will hopefully generate the kind of atmosphere required to see some big names fall.
It has been a long wait for this fantastic tournament to return and everyone at Sports Road would like to thank all the competing teams for accepting the invitation to return. It’s a certainty that the tournament will produce a few superstars for the future to stand alongside the legends already created. Names such as Freddie Toomer, Nathan Paterson, Antoine Sahaghian, Ally McCoist, Marcus McMillan, Jorg Albertz, Robert Scott and Calvin Bassey.
The ‘Captain’s Select’ represents the HKFC and is made up of players from the Club’s five men’s teams, including from the FA Division , HKFC and Lucky Mile and from the Yau Yee League Albion, Wanderers and Colts.
The team has been competing in the Hong Kong Soccer 7s for several years now and has established itself as one of the top teams in the tournament. Winning the Plate competition in 2011 and reaching the semi finals in 2015.
They have consistently performed well in the tournament and have gained a reputation as a team to watch out for.
Yau Yee League Select:
The Yau Yee League is the oldest and biggest amateur football league in Hong Kong that was formed in 1976 by founder members Squadron, HKFC, HKU70s, Swiss XI and German All Stars and has grown to 4 divisions with, currently, 47 teams.
YYL Select is the only team, along with HKFC teams, that has competed in every year of the sevens since its formation in 1999 and we are both proud and privileged to be competing again in the first tournament since 2019. This year’s teams are managed by Michael Johnson and Cyrill Arzner along with the appointed Head Coaches Charlie Pryke of first division team Allied Colloids for the YYL Select and Head Coach Javeed Vageehudeen from Swiss XI for the YYL Masters.
Big thanks to Tony Bratsanos and Hong Kong Football Club for putting on what will, no doubt, be another great event and unforgettable experience.
Yau Yee League Masters:
The Yau Yee League is the oldest and biggest amateur football league in Hong Kong that was formed in 1976 by founder members Squadron, HKFC, HKU70s, Swiss XI and German All Stars and has grown to 4 divisions with, currently, 47 teams.
YYL Select is the only team, along with HKFC teams, that has competed in every year of the sevens since its formation in 1999 and we are both proud and privileged to be competing again in the first tournament since 2019. This year’s teams are managed by Michael Johnson and Cyrill Arzner along with the appointed Head Coaches Charlie Pryke of first division team Allied Colloids for the YYL Select and Head Coach Javeed Vageehudeen from Swiss XI for the YYL Masters.
Big thanks to Tony Bratsanos and Hong Kong Football Club for putting on what will, no doubt, be another great event and unforgettable experience.
Aston Villa are very proud of their record of having won the tournament six times and been in the final on other several other occasions. The last time we
won the tournament back in 2016 we had the likes of Rushian Hepburn- Murphy and Harry McKirdy in the squad and then in 2017 we missed out in the final to a strong Leicester City team. Players such as Jack Grealish, Gabby Agbonlahor, Gary Cahill and Marc Albrighton have all been to Hong Kong with Aston Villa as part of their learning and education from a football perspective and also because of the cultural experiences that are available away from the tournament. Having missed the tournament because of Covid-19, the staff and players are rightly excited at being involved in the 7s this season and we see this tournament as an important part of our young players journey to a professional career.
This year’s group of players will be relatively young, but most have already had some experience of international football. The unique experience the 7s provides from a technical, tactical, and physical viewpoint will be another important part of their development. Most of the group at the tournament will have trained and had some involvement with the 1 st team this season since Unai Emery has taken over as Head Coach so this is another way of building on those experiences.
