The young and not-so-young battled it out in the latest round of the new Nike Hong Kong Football Fives 2002 at Tsuen Wan on Saturday. The competition, organised by the Hong Kong Football Association and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, gives players in four age categories the chance to show their ball skills and compete for trophies and cash coupons. The matches in Tsuen Wan featured footballers from the New Territories West District and were played at Sha Tsui Road Playground. The competition started with matches in Kowloon District on March 16 and will continue this weekend in New Territories East District, followed by Hong Kong District matches at Victoria Park on April 13-14. Top teams from each area in the under-13, u-16, u-19 and men's open categories advance from the preliminary rounds to the finals to be held on April 20-21 at Macpherson Playground, Mongkok. Former South China Football Club goalkeeper Yam Wai-hung, who is coaching several u-13 teams, said the new competition gave juniors more opportunities to take part in competitive football and develop their skills. 'At this age, it is important that they start to develop their ball skills and body co-ordination,' Yam said. A total of 72 teams are competing in each region and 12 will progress to the finals. Two teams advance in the u-13 and u-16 categories, while four qualify in the u-19 and men's sections. Transparent, who were knocked out after losing the last of their three preliminary, round-robin matches in the u-16 category on Saturday, mainly comprise students from Queens College Old Boys' Association Secondary School in Tsing Yi. They are coached by their biology teacher, Wong San-ming. 'It's great just to take part in this event, because the facilities are good,' Wong said. Nike sports marketing assistant Vincent Lai Wing-kwai has worked hard to attract young players. 'Five-a-side is very tight and requires a lot of skill and team work,' Lai said. 'So, we produced a booklet-cum-application form that encourages students to learn about the technical aspects and speed of five-a-side football.' New Territories East matches will be played at Yuen Wo Road Playground, Sha Tin, on Saturday and Sunday. Finalists Nike Football Fives youth category finalists so far. Kowloon U-13: Chun Ma Sports Club, Little Horse U-16: Legend, Bingo U-19: Kwun Kung Football Team, Killer, Delta Swat Team, Shun Chuk Team New Territories West U-13: S K H Wing Chun Primary School, S K H Chu Yan Primary School U-16: Tuen Yeung, Tuen Kwong U-19: Soccer Union, ILEUM, CITA, Tai Po Youth Association and Yee Tan.
