PFA Citi All Stars – one of the favourites for the Masters crown – also featured former Tottenham stars Sean Davis and Pascal Chimbonda, the latter of whom was here the last time the tournament was played in 2019 before a Covid-enforced hiatus.

“We came four years ago, we lost in the final, so this year we want to win it, but we have to deliver on the pitch,” the 44-year-old French defender told the Post after his side’s 1-0 win over Yau Yee League Masters.

“We won one and we drew one, so on Saturday we will do our best to win the other two and Sunday for the semi and the final.

“The crowd are happy – there’s more here than there were four years ago. Hopefully on the weekend there will be even more people for the under-21s and we can have a great tournament in the senior one.

“It’s a warm day. It’s a good day and everyone has enjoyed it, they’re all football fans so I’m happy to be here and I’m happy to give pleasure to the fans.”

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The event’s chairman, Tony Bratsanos, said it was great to see the HKFC City Soccer Sevens back, and that the atmosphere was “excellent”.

“The last three years have been difficult for everybody, but if there’s one thing Hong Kong needs, it’s sport, especially football. This city loves football,” he said.

“And the best thing about seven-a-side football is the open play – every game is exciting, every game there is a result of some sort.

“We almost had a full house, and you can hear how excited the fans are to be back – they’re singing, shouting, and just happy to see great football.”

Watching on from the sidelines, Hongkonger Andreas Chang, 28, was happy to be back at his fifth HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens, and made sure to stop all the big-name players for selfies on their way off the pitch.

“It’s actually been quite a good atmosphere, especially for the first day when it’s just the Masters,” he said. “You get to see some former players in the Premier League so we are all happy. I’m so excited for Saturday to see the under-21s.

“The atmosphere is very noisy, people are shouting, it’s quite nice. I support Newcastle so I was very happy to see them get the championship last time and let’s see if they can defend it. I was here before Covid and the atmosphere was better but people are coming back now, it’s nice.”

Lea Cooper, 15, a budding netball player who competes for Sandy Bay and who was born and raised in Hong Kong, was also happy to be back.

“Today was very eventful,” she said. “I’m quite a loyal Soccer Sevens attendee, I’ve been to three of them. I feel like it definitely brings back a wave of nostalgia.”

Gavin Thompson, 28, was enjoying his first Soccer 7s, having moved from London to the city just two months ago for work in the textile industry.

“It’s my first time here – the beer is good, the football is all right, I’m enjoying the nice weather,” he said. “It’s a nice crowd. A nice mix between Westerners and locals.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of the days, mainly seeing the British clubs and the young players should be very exciting. I definitely would come back next year.”

Roger Lee, 49, who moved to Hong Kong from New York 9 years ago, enjoyed watching football of any kind for the first time in his life.

“I think it’s really cool to see the first post-pandemic live sports here,” he said. “It’s quite exciting and visually interesting to see a soccer field under the lights in the middle of a racetrack.

“It’s a nice night, the crowd is small but enthusiastic. It’s cool, I dig it. There’s a bunch of kids here having fun, they’ve set up some activities for them. They put some thought into a nice event.”