The Football Association of Hong Kong, China

Greater Bay Area competition is the vision as Guangzhou club R&F gears up for Hong Kong league

With a population of 100 million in the area, there is a strong market that can sustain a league, R&F official says

Big spenders will have a HK$50 million budget for new Hong Kong season, HK$20m more than traditional heavyweights Kitchee

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R&F Guangzhou introduce some of their players for the new season at a presser on Wednesday. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

Published: 7:42pm, 31 Jul 2019Updated: 9:59pm, 1 Aug 2019

Guangzhou-based R&F hope their investment in the Hong Kong Premier League can help push the establishment of regional competitions in the Greater Bay Area, a senior club official said on Wednesday.

The big spenders will operate with a HK$50 million budget in the coming season, far more than any other club, with the league championship their major target after narrowly losing out to Wofoo Tai Po in May.

But club general manager Tyler Kwok Nengpei said their long-term vision is to start a formal competition in the bay area.

“We want to help strengthen soccer in the region through our investment so that we can one day set up a league competition in the Greater Bay Area,” Kwok said.

“Guangdong has a population of 100 million and its area is bigger than some countries in Europe. We certainly have a strong market that can sustain a league in this area if the teams are good enough to attract the fans.

R&F officials at a press conference to announce their ambitions for the new season.

“Of course, this will be a long-term project with a lot of technical things to be sorted out, but initially we may introduce a cup competition involving teams in the Greater Bay Area which should be more simple than a starting a league.”