Kevin Bond has returned to HK Pegasus to be its head coach. Steve Gallen was fired last week after a run of poor results.
HKPL HK Pegasus 1:1 Wofoo Tai Po Kevin Bond's return has made some difference to the HK Pegasus but it will take time to turn the club around.
South China Morning Post Hong Kong’s Champions League debut in doubt with AFC set to block Kitchee’s bid to replace Premier League winners Eastern Football Association have entered last season’s runners-up as well as Southern in the continental club competition for 2017, but the move is set to fall foul of tournament rules regarding eligible teams Andrew Mullen Hong Kong is in danger of losing a coveted spot in next year’s AFC Champions League group stage after the Asian Football Confederation confirmed league runners-up Kitchee will not be allowed to replace Premier League champions Eastern in the 2017 competition. Eastern revealed in July they would be giving up the chance to become Hong Kong’s first-ever direct qualifier for the continental club competition after losing key financial support having claimed the top-flight title last season. The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) have since entered the names of Kitchee and also end of season play-off runners-up Southern, who would enter in the continental play-off stage, but that move is set to fall foul of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competition rules. “We can confirm that if Eastern decide not to participate in the competition the HKFA will lose the direct slot in the group stage,” an AFC spokesperson told the Post. Clubs from the city have regularly featured in the second-tier AFC Cup with South China reaching this year’s quarter-finals, while Kitchee were eliminated in the AFC Champions League play-offs. Hong Kong’s ranking within the AFC has now risen to 14, meaning they are now eligible for one direct group stage berth as well as a place in the play-offs as the sixth best rated nation in the East region. But according to AFC competition rules, the “sporting criteria” which determines eligible teams lists “winner of the national top division league” as the first factor to consider. Should Hong Kong have their place withdrawn, it is believed seventh ranked Australia will benefit by seeing their automatic group stage places increase to three. South Korea and Japan are currently allocated three automatic spots in the group stage of the 16-team East region plus one play-off berth. HKFA chief executive Mark Sutcliffe is set to meet with AFC officials during a Champions League workshop in South Korea this weekend on the sidelines of the first leg of this year’s final between FC Seoul and Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates. “The HKFA Board resolved to apply on behalf of Kitchee and Southern,” said Sutcliffe. “Obviously it would be disappointing. “I am going to an AFC Champions League workshop in Korea this weekend to coincide with the first leg of the final, so maybe they will tell me then, but as of now I have had no confirmation so can’t really comment.” Eastern manager Peter Leung Shou-chi confirmed in July that last season’s Premier League and Senior Shield winner “had to give up our Champions League slot” after president Lai Tung-kwong decided to depart having invested over HK$20 million into the club a year for the past three years. At the time Sutcliffe said that “I doubt there will be a penalty from the AFC because we haven’t made the application yet. I think we have a very good replacement in Kitchee. Subject to the AFC, Kitchee will play in the Champions League next season.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope HKFA will/can resolve this... but Kitchee is going to be very upset because they already made arrangements and signed contracts to host the Lunar New Year Cup.
The HKFA needs to decide what it's most important priorities are. On principle, I agree that they should do everything they can do ensure that Kitchee and Southern play in the Champions League. However, if the AFC hands Hong Kong an ultimatum - either Eastern enters as our representative in the group stage or we lose the seed altogether, then perhaps principle has to take a back seat. The HKFA's job is the grow the game and having one less team in the Champions League seems to go against that mandate. Unfortunately, they may have no choice but to send Eastern to the group, Kitchee to the qualifiers, shut Southern out of Asia and over the latter two settlement payments. From lawmakers to football, we seem to find ways to inject unnecessary drama into what would otherwise be historic occasions for HK.
R&F Guangzhou 0:2 Kitchee. Lam Zhi-Gin and Rubino scored for Kitchee. South China 2:1 Kwun Chung Southern District. Nikola Komazec scored both goals.
KMB Yuen Long 4:0 Biu Chun GlorySky. Stefan Pereira scored a hat-trick. Lee Man Rangers 0:1 Wofoo Tai Po
http://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/sport/20...d9a0d6f014dc43e82ec5983&eventsection=hk_sport In this video Southern District convener Chan Man-Chun is quite vocal about his dissatisfaction with HKFA's management. He said Kwun Chung Bus Company is very disappointed and angry about the ACL fiasco. He reserves the right to sue HKFA for damages and losses.
South China Morning Post Eastern ‘ready to return’ to AFC Champions League as Kitchee attack Hong Kong FA chief for ‘blunder’ in eligibility fiasco Ken Ng Kin claims Mark Sutcliffe knew only the champions are allowed to play in the regional competition but failed to inform clubs UPDATED : Friday, 18 November, 2016, 11:07pm Premier League club Kitchee lashed out at Hong Kong Football Association chief executive Mark Sutcliffe for their failure to be allowed into the 2017 AFC Champions League main draw, with champions Eastern now saying they are willing to return to the elite regional competition. After Eastern initially pulled out of the Champions League, Kitchee – who as runners-up were only in the qualifying play-offs – were put forward by the HKFA for the main draw place. But the AFC confirmed to the Post on Thursday that their rules would not allow Kitchee to take Eastern’s place, and they would have to remain in the qualifying competition. Kitchee boss Ken Ng Kin claimed on Friday that Sutcliffe had been informed about the rules by the AFC in October but the clubs involved never knew about this. Sutcliffe, however, said Kitchee’s claims contains “significant inaccuracies”. Hong Kong’s Champions League debut in doubt with AFC set to block Kitchee’s bid to replace Premier League winners Eastern “We would have had ample time to reverse the board’s decision to replace Eastern by Kitchee if we knew the AFC’s concerns long ago,” said Ng. As Hong Kong champions, Eastern must represent the city in the AFC Champions League. Photo: SCMP Pictures “Sutcliffe has to take the responsibility for his administrative blunder as the clubs involved have been left with no idea what to do. “This makes Hong Kong soccer an embarrassment and we will report the case to the board.” In July, Eastern said they would withdraw from the tournament owing to financial difficulties, although they changed their mind five days later. Sutcliffe is in South Korea for an ACL workshop and said: “Firstly, I think it is sad and unnecessary that this issue has been brought into the public domain. It should have been discussed in private. “However, now that it is, all I can say at this juncture is that the Kitchee version of events contains many fundamental and significant inaccuracies. I will correct these after I have met with officials from the AFC and return to Kong Kong. “I am hopeful that we can work together for the benefit of Hong Kong football, I’m sure that’s what we all want.” Eastern executive director Peter Leung Shou-chi said the club were willing to play in the ACL but said it would be up to the HKFA. “As the Champions, we are very disappointed of missing the opportunity of playing in the 2017 Champions League main round,” said Leung. “We thought we might have the chance after knowing they can’t change the team but in the end it’s the decision of the board and we will be trying our best to realise the goal in future.” Kitchee can still start in the Champions League qualifying play-off second round at home on January 31, but that date clashes with the annual Lunar New Year Cup – of which Kitchee are hosts. Hong Kong’s slot in the group stage is now set to go to another club from a country ranked higher than Hong Kong. According to the AFC rules, if an eligible club who refuses to enter the competition, despite being licensed and meeting the sporting criteria, the slot allocated to its member association shall be annulled, regardless of whether it is a direct slot or play-off slot.
Sapling Cup Kwun Chung Southern District 2:0 HK Football Club Only 80 fans attended the match at Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground...
http://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/ar...lubs-set-return-hong-kong-next-summer-despite South China Morning Post says Premier League Asia Trophy will return to Hong Kong in summer 2017.
HKPL Kitchee 0:0 Biu Chun GlorySky Wofoo Tai Po 0:3 KMB Yuen Long Eastern Longlions AA 2:1 HK Pegasus Kwun Chung Southern District 3:2 R&F Guangzhou Eastern Longlions now enjoys a 2 point lead at the top of the table. South China was winning 3:0 against Hong Kong Football Club when the match was cancelled due to a downpour. The match will be replayed on another date and will start at 0:0.
South China's Wallace Cheung said he can co-host the Lunar New Year Cup with Kitchee. He said he can get New York City FC (Pirlo, Villa and co) to come and play on 4 February. I don't really know what he is talking about...
Kitchee signed Swiss striker Orhan Mustafi. He has completed his registration and will be able to play against league leader Eastern Longlions in the top of the table clash on Saturday.
Lee Man Rangers 1:4 Auckland City FC A friendly match was held in Tuen Mun Tang Shiu Kin Sports Ground on yesterday night. The official twitter of away team described the sports ground as a "very bumpy pitch"... They come Hong Kong to prepare for the Japan FIFA Club World Cup on Dec 8.
http://www.the-afc.com/2016-awards/afc-women’s-coach-of-the-year-2016-chan-yuen-ting Eastern AA coach Chan Yuen-Ting won the AFC Women’s Coach of the Year award for 2016. Congratulations to Beef Ball as she is popularly known here.
HKPL: Lee Man Rangers 1:0 R&F Guangzhou Wofoo Tai Po 1:0 Biu Chun GlorySky Kitchee 0:0 Eastern Longlions AA South China 1:0 KMB Yuen Long FC Sun Pegasus 0:0 Kwun Chung Southern District
I thought the ref failed to establish control of this one early. In a game where the stakes were high, the referee should be level headed and try to verbally caution players who were playing near the edge on their challenges. Instead, he let of rough play go and then when the players complained, he booked them for dissent. However, he correctly booked Helio on both occasions for losing his composure. His sending off really changed the match IMO. Before that, I felt Kitchee were the better team. Afterwards, they dropped off and gave Eastern lots of space to whip balls in. Eastern will rue Lugo's and Saric's missed chances if they go on and miss the title. Also congrats to Chan Yuen Ting on winning the award and flying back to HK in the morning so she didn't miss the important match.
It was a shame that only 3 goals in 5 matches... Both games on Sunday were so boring too. I feel so disappointed to the performance of South China and some middle clubs like Southern and Pegasus.
New York FC striker and former Spanish International player David Villa will be in Hong Kong on Friday for an announcement with Kitchee. He will also lead some training sessions with the first team during his stay. He will leave Hong Kong on Sunday. Maybe he will become the player/coach for the club?
HKFA said if Kitchee does host the Lunar New Year Cup, they will propose to AFC to postpone the ACL preliminary round match. HKFA will also host the Reunification Cup next August. They are still negotiating with foreign clubs. Mark Sutcliffe said he is optimistic HK will host the Premier League Asia Trophy next July, but will likely only host one match day out of two.
We almost lost the first ever slot in ACL Group Stage because of these morons in the Football Association... Shut up and don't provoke the AFC anymore, OK?
South China Morning Post No arbitration tribunal for AFC Champions League eligibility saga yet, says HKFA Local governing soccer body will ‘investigate the matter’ before taking any action over which clubs should represent Hong Kong at the regional competition Chan Kin-wa The Hong Kong Football Association has played down a request by Kitchee to set up an arbitration tribunal in the wake of the recent AFC Champions League eligibility saga that involves three Premier League clubs. Chairman of the board Brain Leung Hung-tak said they would investigate the matter before taking any action after champions Eastern were reinstated as one of two Hong Kong representative clubs for the regional top-tier competition. “We are not setting up any tribunal at this stage,” said Leung after Monday’s board meeting. “We would make an inquiry first to gather more information so that we can get a better picture. We’ll then decide what to do next.” Leung refused to disclose how the investigation would be conducted, but a board member said they would form a small group to serve the purpose after a compromise had been made between the parties involved. “There have been discussions with Kitchee and we agreed to make an investigation first,” said a member. “It’s too early to launch an official tribunal to accuse anybody of making any administrative blunders on the matter. We need more information.” Kitchee boss Ken Ng Kin had earlier accused association chief executive Mark Sutcliffe of making an administrative blunder that allowed Eastern to be reinstated in their participation in the Champions League. The 2016 Hong Kong league champions withdrew their participation in the regional competition in July due to financial difficulties but the club reverse their decision five days later. The board then decided in August that Kitchee, the Premier League runners-up, would replace Eastern while Play-off Cup runners-up Southern (Kitchee are the champions) would be invited to take up the second spot from Hong Kong. However, the FA found out last month that Eastern’s spot could not be replaced by Kitchee and Kitchee would have to enter as the second team from Hong Kong. The Football Association then re-entered Eastern, along with Kitchee for the 2017 Champions League, with Kitchee playing in the qualifying stage as the second team from Hong Kong. Sutcliffe, who was asked to leave the board meeting when the discussion on Kitchee’s request was made, welcomed any form of investigation. “I am very relaxed about it,” said Sutcliffe. “If they want to have a tribunal or any other form of investigation, that’s fine by me because I have nothing to hide. I hope it happens as soon as possible so that it can provide evidence to prove that there had not been any blunder on my part.” Meanwhile, Leung confirmed they had been in discussions with the English Premier League with the possibility of hosting the Asia Trophy in Hong Kong again in the summer of 2017. “We are confident of having the event back but the format may change,” he said. “A decision will be made by January at the latest.” It has been proposed the two-day day event will feature three EPL sides and the Hong Kong champions and will be held in Hong Kong and the mainland separately. The Hong Kong match day has been slated for July 22. Leung also disclosed they would invite a top European side for the Re-unification Cup in August to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover.