Hong Kong could be represented by an under-23 side at this year’s East Asian Football Championship after being granted permission to play in the tournament alongside regional giants Japan, South Korea and China. Football Association chairman Pui Kwan-kay said he was “delighted” at the prospect of playing in the flagship competition, which has become a biennial event since 2013. “Under normal circumstances we have to go through a preliminary round before qualifying to the final four, but because of Covid-19 we have been accepted straight into the tournament,” he said. “This is a good opportunity for our representative team to rub shoulders against the top three sides in East Asia, but since we only received the news very recently, we don’t have too many details of the event. “Of course we are happy to take our Under-23 side to the tournament because they will be preparing for September’s Asian Games in Hangzhou and this will be a good warm-up event, but we also need to stay competitive against the three quality opponents and this cannot be achieved without sending our senior squad. “We have to consider all these factors before making a final decision.” South Korea hold on against Japan to win fourth EAFF Finals Last week, Eric Fok Kai-shan, vice-chairman of the Football Association, was elected vice-president of the East Asian Football Federation until 2026. Fok then announced Hong Kong would play in the EAFF Championship this summer with the three other nations. There are 10 members of the regional federation and the top three sides, Japan, South Korea and China, go straight to the championship, while the remaining sides must go through the qualifying stages to join the trio. Hong Kong also appeared in the last tournament in Busan, South Korea in 2019, where they edged out strong rivals North Korea in the qualifying round under former manager Gary White. The team then lost all three other matches in the championship under new manager Mixu Paatelainen. North Korea had already pulled out of the 2022 World Cup Asian zone qualifiers and it seems they would have little interest in a EAFF Championship qualification, leaving Hong Kong the next best team. Other team members of the federation include Taiwan, Mongolia, Guam, Macau and Northern Mariana Islands. China was selected to host the 2022 tournament in July, but reports in the Mainland said it would be relocated because of the worsening pandemic situation. Either South Korea or Japan will take up the hosting rights. China will also be represented by their Under-23 side as they prepare for the Asian Games. After crashing out of the 2022 World Cup Asian zone qualifiers, China’s senior squad will not compete again in 2022. Pui said the men’s football team will be eligible for the 2022 Asian Games as they have met the criteria set out by the Olympic Committee. They will also send a women’s team.