Kowloon Cricket Club Veterans

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.

HKFC Masters

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.

HKFC Chairman’s Select

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.

Ampcontrol Discovery Bay

The lads from Discovery Bay (DB) return to the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens for the tenth time and this year as Ampcontrol Discovery Bay, having secured a new main sponsor that specializes in high voltage electrical engineering services and following their notable performances in 2017 and 2019 (reaching the plate final) and especially in 2018 (cup winners) the team will be fully charged for an electrifying display in this year’s tournament.

Ampcontrol Discovery Bay consist of local amateur and professional players from Discovery Bay Football Club (DBFC) and the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) league teams, having separated from the previous years of partnership with the boys from Brazil, who this year field their own team in the tournament. Discovery Bay teams from the past have included some star attractions such as former England Internationals Peter Beardsley, Teddy Sheringham and Darren Anderton. 

Ampcontrol Discovery Bay will be coached again by former Hong Kong star forward and Discovery Bay resident Tim Bredbury and big support will come from the teams main and secondary sponsors’ representatives, who are all Discovery Bay residents.

PFA Citi All Stars

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.

Singapore Cricket Club

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.

Leicester City

Leicester City’s youngsters are participating in HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens once more, returning to Happy Valley to represent the Club for the intense three-day, seven-a-side competition.

Leicester have been regular participants in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay district for a contest which provides Academy graduates with an opportunity to test their skills on a big stage. 

Over previous seasons, the Club’s brightest talents have flown out to Asia to experience a unique and challenging environment which further aids their development.

Some of the Club’s current first team stars have previously featured in the competition over the years, such as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Luke Thomas and Daniel Iversen, as well as loanees Hamza Choudhury and Marc Albrighton – who famously helped the Club win the English Premier League for the first time in 2016. 

The tournament, which began in 1999, took an unscheduled three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is back this year with the Foxes looking to regain the youth trophy they have lifted on two occasions.

Since debuting at the event back in 2012, members of the Club’s Development Squad have enjoyed magnificent success in Hong Kong, notably winning the Main Cup crown twice. 

Firstly claiming the Shield following a 3-2 victory over Chelsea in the 2012 final, during their maiden tournament, the Foxes returned a year later to lift the Cup with a 2-0 win against holders Newcastle United.

Successive Plate finals followed, with victory in 2014 over BC Rangers and defeat on penalties the year after to Hong Kong Football Club. 

In 2016, meanwhile, Leicester advanced to the quarter-finals before going down 2-1 to New Zealand’s Wellington Phoenix, only to reach a fifth straight final after defeating Kashima Antlers 6-5 in the Shield Semi-Final. 

A 3-2 victory over Hong Kong Eastern in the final meant Leicester lifted four trophies in five HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens tournaments and an impressive showing in 2017 extended that record further. 

Claiming the Main Cup title for the second time, defeating Aston Villa 3-0 in the final, City’s side will again come up against an illustrious list of youngsters from across the globe, with fellow Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion and reigning Soccer Sevens champions Newcastle also competing this time around.

In total, 16 teams will take part in the main tournament at Sports Road, including Hong Kong Premier League sides Kitchee and HKU23.



Kitchee

Kitchee Sports Club was established in 1931 and has been competing in the top professional league in Hong Kong since 2003. The club has enjoyed a successful trophy-laden spell following their return to the top division, having won 12 championships, including 6 Hong Kong First Division titles and 6 Hong Kong Premier League titles, along with 8 Hong Kong Senior Shields and 7 x FA Cups, making them one of the most distinguished football clubs in Hong Kong’s footballing history. 

Kitchee have also been regularly competing in Asian continental competitions, and the qualifying for the East Region Knockout Stage for the first time in the AFC Champions League last August was the first Hong Kong club in history to advance to the Round of 16. Their domestic dominance has also been impressive as the recent FA Cup triumph has taken Kitchee to become domestic treble winners for the 5th time.

Hong Kong Football Club

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.

HKFC Captain’s Select

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.



HKFA U-20

Group: D

Seeded: 9-12

Founded: 1909 (HKFA)

Home: HKFA, 55 Fat Kwong Street, Homantin, Kowloon, Hong Kong

 

This year’s HKFA U-20 side succeed the HKFA U-21 side that competed from 2011 to 2014 (playing as Hong Kong Dragons in 2012 and 2013) and peaked last year by reaching the Cup quarter-finals.

The purpose of inviting HKFA age-group sides to the Soccer Sevens was to give the city’s top youngsters exposure to tournament-intensity competition against similarly aged players from top European clubs. This year, HKFA U-20 will get exactly that as they face strong sides from Atletico Madrid and Stoke City, as well as some of Hong Kong’s top amateurs from Yau Yee League Select.

From the provisional 14-man squad as of early May, defender Lau Hok-ming and goalkeeper Yuen Ho-chun both played for HKFA U-21 in last year’s Soccer Sevens as well as in this year’s AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers.

Forward Chung Wai-keung, midfielder Wong Chun-hin and defenders Lai Hau-hei and Yu Pui-hong also played for Hong Kong in their AFC U-23 Championship qualifying group in Taipei.

Last year, HKFA U-21 drew 1-1 with Yau Yee League Select to confirm second place in Group D behind Aston Villa, having earlier shocked then-defending champions Leicester City 1-0. They then suffered an agonising 2-1 defeat in extra-time to eventual finalists Kitchee in an entertaining Cup quarter-final before losing 2-0 to Rangers in the Shield semis.

Two years ago, HKFA Dragons edged Yau Yee League Select on penalties in the Plate quarter-finals before losing on spot-kicks to eventual champions BC Rangers in the semis.

SQUAD

  • MANAGEMENT -
  • Anilton Da Conceicao - Head Coach
  • Szeto Man-chun - Team Manager
  • PLAYERS -
  • 1. Li Yat-chun (Eastern; 19) - Goalkeeper
  • 2. Yu Pui-hong (Wong Tai Sin; 20) - Defender
  • 3. Wang Hecun (Kitchee; 18) - Defender
  • 4. Lau Hok-ming (YFCMD; 19) - Defender
  • 5. Lee Ka-wah (BC Rangers; 18) - Defender
  • 7. Cheng King-ho (Yuen Long; 25) - Midfielder
  • 11. Chung Wai-keung (Metro Gallery Sun Source; 19) - Forward
  • 12. Lai Hau-hei (c) (BC Rangers; 20) - Defender
  • 15. Wong Chun-hin (Wong Tai Sin; 19) - Midfielder
  • 20. Lai Lok-yin (Metro Gallery Sun Source; 19) - Midfielder

RECORD

  • 2015

    Group D (4th)

    Lost to Atletico Madrid 2-1

    Lost to Stoke City 3-0

    Lost to Yau Yee League Select 2-1

    Plate quarter-finals: Lost to Shanghai SIPG 2-0

  • 2014

    (HKFA U-21)

    Group D (2nd)

    Lost to Aston Villa 2-0

    Beat Leicester City 1-0

    Drew with Yau Yee League Select 1-1

    Cup quarter-final: Lost to Kitchee 2-1 (a.e.t)

    Shield semi-final: Lost to Rangers 2-0

  • 2013

    (HKFA Dragons)

    Group C (3rd)
    Lost to South China 3-2

    Lost to Rangers 2-1

    Beat Hong Kong Football Club 2-0

    Plate quarter-final: Beat Yau Yee League Select 0-0 (1-0 pens)

    Plate semi-final: Lost to BC Rangers 1-1 (1-2 pens)

  • 2012

    (HKFA Dragons)

    Group D (4th)

    Lost to Newcastle United 2-0

    Lost to Aston Villa 3-1

    Drew with Hong Kong Football Club 0-0

    Plate quarter-final: Lost to West Ham United 3-0

  • 2011

    (HKFA U-21)

    Group B (4th)

    Lost to Boca Juniors 1-0

    Lost to Rangers 4-0

    Drew with Singapore Cricket Club 0-0

    Plate quarter-final: Beat Fourway Rangers 1-0

    Semi-final: Lost to HKFC Captain’s Select 1-0

     

Yau Yee League Select

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.



Newcastle United

Newcastle United return to the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens after a four-year absence, with the two-time defending champions aiming to secure an unprecedented third title in Happy Valley. The young Magpies won their first Cup in 2012, when they defeated Aston Villa 2-1 in the final before lifting the trophy for a second time six years later after beating Rangers 1-0 in the final.

Newcastle retained the trophy 12 months later after beating the same opponent in a dramatic final, recovering from two goals down to claim a 4-3 extra-time victory against the Scottish giants. Newcastle United have a pair of FA Youth Cup successes on their honours list and the club has been home to some of the most exciting talent in the English game, with the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley and Chris Waddle amongst many stars to pull on the famous black-and-white striped shirt whilst the likes of Sean Longstaff and Elliot Anderson have both progressed from the Magpies’ Academy to first-team level in recent years.

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