WoFoo Tai Po celebrate league success in an open-top bus, but club’s future hangs in the balance
- New Territories club complete their league campaign on a winning note by defeating Dreams FC 3-1
- The new Hong Kong Premier League champions celebrate their historic success by meeting their fans
Wofoo Tai Po might have ended the season on a high by winning their last match of the BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League, but their future still hangs in the balance.
Their 3-1 home victory over Dreams FC in the last match of the season on Sunday put the icing on the cake having captured the league title a fortnight ago by defeating R&F Guangzhou.
Tai Po ended their league campaign on 41 points, five more than R&F, who defeated Pegasus 3-2 on Sunday. Defending champions Kitchee finished a disappointing fourth after losing 2-0 to Eastern.
On a baking hot day, Tai Po celebrated their league title victory in an open-top bus that paraded around Tai Po, but there has been speculation that Tai Po coach Lee Chi-kin, who led the team to unprecedented league glory, would be leaving the club. He could make for the exit door along with Brazilian striker Igor Sartori – possibly the best player of the team and a strong favourite for the Footballer of Year award to be announced next week.
Both were tight lipped on their future with the club, instead preferring to celebrate the team’s success as the first district club to win Hong Kong’s top-tier league championship.
Coach Lee said he had done his best helping the club win their inaugural league title and hinted he wanted to face bigger challenges in his career.
“Tai Po are a district club and I want to know what their plans are for the future after winning the league title,” he said. “There are many challenges in sport, especially after we started in the AFC Cup and found out the gulf between us and other regional teams such as April 25 of North Korea is quite substantial.
“If the club is still ambitious and want to move forward to a higher level, I will certainly stay. But we have yet to sit down and discuss what we want to do in future.”
Sartori was emotional after the club’s last match of the season as he hugged every player, seemingly wanting to say goodbye to his teammates.
“Today is about celebration with the club and the players. I don’t want to talk about my own future yet,” said the Brazilian, who joined Tai Po in 2017. “I’ll let you know my future in a couple of days.”
There are rumours the 26-year-old, who scored nine goals this season, might join big spenders R&F at a staggering monthly salary of more than HK$300,000 a month. The Guangzhou-based R&F splashed HK$50 million this season but finished empty-handed this season. They may register as a Hong Kong club next season.
Captain Wong Wai said Tai Po are a club with limited resources but their players are always a target for the bigger clubs.
“We have performed extremely well this season and some of us might be poached by other clubs,” said the midfielder. “If the opportunities come, I don’t mind trying my future with other teams.”
Striker Sandro remained firm on his future as he is still contracted with Tai Po next season.
“It’s such a happy occasion to see we managed to break the dominance of Kitchee and the other big clubs,” said the Brazilian. “I enjoy playing with the district club and I would love to stay.”
