Since a few years Hong Kong and Macau were officially handed back to China and thus are no longer colonies. Still, they both have an FA and national team seperate from the Chinese. I am not sure if Macau has a league, but I do know Hong Kong has its own soccer league. I wonder why they still go on on their own ? FIFA seems to disencourage unsovereign nations to enter the competitions (e.g. Gibraltar, Greenland, Jersey, Guernsey, ...) but yet they do approve Hong Kong and Macau to go on independently. It's a bit like Alaska or Tasmania forming their own national team... Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Hong Kong and Macau, I just wonder if it wouldn't be easier for them to merge with China just like the former colonies merged with the Chinese PR ?
Actually, its nothing like that at all...If you look at the UK, each of those countries has their own national team. HK has its own league, if the national teams were to be united, I think FIFA would require HK to disband its league, which would force them to join the CSL, which would have its own inherent difficulties. Beyond that, almost none (if not none) of the HK players could play for the Chinese MNT, so by having their own team, it gives them the opportunity to play. I don't see why their status should change because they are no longer a part of the UK and Portugal but instead are a part of China now...
I believe the Hong Kong league has a team from mainland China in it, doesn't it ? I have no info at all on the Macau league. I know HK has a more or less professional league, but what about Macau ? I guess the level is amateuristic there ? Any pictures exist from the Macaun stadium ?
According to FIFA rules, you can't have different leagues and one national team. Hong Kong does not want to lose its national team, that's why the football leagues won't merge. CFA is actually concerned about HK being part of the CSL, because HK loves to gamble. If HK comes into the CSL, who knows how much corruption there will be in terms of match fixing. Macau, that's even gonna be worse. It's good to keep them seperate, Macau and HK are two more national teams that China can beat up on. Although HK vs China can be quite the rivalry sometimes.
While HK is an extremely small island, Macau is even smaller and I highly doubt it has any kind of league. As far as I know there is no mainland team in the HK league, but I could be wrong, perhaps there is a team from Guangdong or something... I do know that there is at least one stadium in Macau because I remember China played Portugal in a friendly in preparation for WC2002, but don't know about any pics...
couldnt hong kong just make one team by merging the best players in their league and create like a Man U of China? if this happened China could take the spots as one of the 4 best teams in Asia.
Soccer in Hong Kong is so poor. There are less than 100 people at the game. They should create 2 teams and join the pro league in China.
HK doesn't want to give up its own international team and therefore its not going to happen. Members of the HK MNT would not be able to play for the China MNT with the exception of 1 or 2 guys, maybe!
But are they entitled to keep their national team ? I mean, they are no longer a British/Portuguese semi-sovereign territory... I mean, in theory they have no more rights to claim soccer independence than Michigan or Tasmania...
I would say they do...Instead of being semi-sovereign British/Portugese territories, they are semi-sovereign Chinese territories, whats the difference?
Are they still semi-sovereign ? Anyway, there is a difference. They are now very close to the mainland of the country ruling them, while in the past they were thousands of miles away. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands have problems gaining FIFA independence amongst others because of their close distance to the mainland UK... while for HK and Macau no problem seems to be made at the offices in Zurich.
I think! You must merge UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and USA together first, Errrrr, a US empire hehee
If Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales can have their own leagues & national teams then why not Hong Kong? It has more people than any of those 3 nations and a history that has been distinct from that of the PRC for quite some time. Hong Kong is still semi-sovereign politically (in name anyway). Hong Kong has the oldest pro league in Asia (albeit the quality is low).