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R&F start their practice session at Tseung Kwan O Training Centre in preparation for the remaining season but later had to move to an artificial pitch in Kowloon Bay. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

HKFA chief to urge R&F to stay in Hong Kong Premier League: ‘We do not want to lose them’

  • Guangzhou-based club finish third in the league and runners-up of FA Cup this season after spending HK$100m since 2016
  • Club ‘let down time and again’ says head coach as he hopes to help players secure futures elsewhere

The Hong Kong Football Association will try to persuade R&F to stay on after the Guangzhou-based club announced their withdrawal from the city’s Premier League on Wednesday.

On Monday, the day after the big spending club finished the season in a disappointing third place behind champions Kitchee and Eastern, there was speculation that R&F would pull out.

The club, who first joined the Hong Kong top tier competition in 2016, confirmed that on Wednesday.

HKFA chairman Pui Kwan-kay was disappointed to lose the club that had splashed over HK$100 million during the past four seasons but won no silverware.

R&F players pose before their Premier League match against Lee Man at Mong Kok Stadium. Now becomes history. Photo: HKFA

“There will only be eight teams left for next season if R&F are pulling out and we will have to reschedule all the fixtures,” said the chief. “It’s not only a matter of one team less but considering the contribution made by R&F, we do not want to lose them.

“They have spent a lot on the welfare of the players and their professional way of running a club will also benefit Hong Kong football as a whole. We are not sure if they will change their mind but will do our best to keep them in Hong Kong.”

Guangzhou side R&F pull out of Hong Kong ‘with immediate effect’

Pui preferred not to speculate on the reasons behind R&F’s decision, but urged the domestic football community to embrace newcomers more for the sake of future development.

“We always want to expand the competition and it should be a win-win situation if more interested parties from outside are willing to join, especially those with strong financial backing,” he said.

“It’s very difficult to identify new investors on Hong Kong football these days due to the economic situation and therefore we should be more welcome if someone is willing to come and spend money here.”

Andreas Lin (right) and Igor Sartori of R&F to stop Eastern's Everton Camargo in their last game of the season at Hong Kong Stadium. Photo: HKFA

“It‘s not all about results which can be improved through the hard work of the players as they have signed up some new faces to strengthen the squad further, but the current situation of Hong Kong football and its related system that set up many hurdles for R&F to play in the Premier League,” R&F head coach Yeung Ching-kwong said.

“This not just happened in the last few months but have existed for a long time since R&F joined Hong Kong football. The club has been let down time after time by many of the decisions against them on and off the field and that’s possibly why the management made such a decision which has been quite disappointing.”

Yeung said he still has a contract until the end of next season while some players have contract for one to two seasons. He hoped to help the players reach mutual agreement with the management and find new clubs if possible.

As it happened: Kitchee claim memorable HKPL title win

The new season is due to kick off in 10 days on October 24. The 2019 champions Wofoo Tai Po, along with another district club, Yuen Long, have already pulled out of the Premier League due to financial reasons and will play in the First Division.

The last time eight teams competed in the top flight was in the 2005-2006 season, while the 2001-2002 season featured only seven teams.

At last year’s annual general meeting in September 2019, the HKFA board had recommended R&F to become one of its voting members but unfortunately the proposal only received five votes while 22 clubs who were present voted against it.

China-based R&F pull out of Hong Kong Premier League: reports

The Guangzhou based club was also mocked by many Hong Kong netizens especially after the deteriorating relationship between Hong Kong and China since the beginning of the social protests in June last year.

R&F’s announcement said, “In face of the current atmosphere of Hong Kong football today, we decide to withdraw from the Hong Kong Premier League with immediate effect”.

Although there was no further elaboration of the “current atmosphere” of Hong Kong football, it’s believed the collective decision of not allowing R&F to become a voting member played a significant role.

Referee Tam Ping-wun books R&F defender Luis Nunes for showing discontent. Kitchee beat R&F 3-2 at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

Also, some teams were still against R&F to have been given the right to use their home ground in Guangzhou rather than in Hong Kong.

One club also said if R&F won the league championship, they would appeal to Fifa to overrule the standings as R&F had used an inappropriate home ground.

The club was also let down by other decisions around the restart of last season in September, especially as R&F had to train on the artificial pitch in Kowloon Bay along with bottom team Happy Valley.

Confusion and discontent over HKFA’s handling of new signings

Eastern and Lee Man were given the HKFA training centre in Tseung Kwan O for training while Southern could train at their home ground in Aberdeen, with Kitchee having their own ground in Shek Mun.

When the season was first planned to return in August, R&F were given the Tseung Kwan O Training Centre for their preparation.

R&F have already secured some new players for next season, including Hong Kong international Tsui Wang-kit and former Australia youth international Jared Lum.

Defender Tsui joined from China League One club Meizhou Hakka, while midfielder Lum was with Kitchee over the last four seasons.

Both players were not eligible to play in the restart of the season but now they may have to look for new clubs without playing a game for their new team.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: We don’t want to lose R&F, FA chairman insists
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