Hong Kong football star latest in city to face tough choice: play on or go to university?
- Anthony Pinto scored two minutes into his international career for Hong Kong, but the city’s club football cannot offer financial security
Hong Kong new-boy Anthony Pinto is the latest local talent wrestling with a dilemma over whether to stick with professional football or go to university.
The 18-year-old scored two minutes after coming off the bench in the World Cup qualifier against Iran last week, but could exit the fray almost as swiftly as he entered it. Playing in Hong Kong is not a viable option, given the lack of financial security on offer to young players looking to make a living.
While Pinto’s former teachers in the UK may approve of keeping the academic door open, his swift impact in international football has parallels with that of a fellow former pupil.
Kobbie Mainoo, of Manchester United and England, was in the year above Pinto at Ashton on Mersey School, where United send academy prospects, with Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford among earlier alumni.
Pinto, however, is now without a club after his recent release from English League One side Bolton Wanderers. It leaves him with the choice that faced two of the Hong Kong under-23 team who reached last year’s Asian Games semi-finals, Ellison Tsang Yi-hang and Kyle Lau Ka-kiu. Both have since prioritised studying.
Last year former Hong Kong head coach Jorn Andersen, whose selection of Pinto was one of his final acts in charge, bemoaned a “not good” situation where “the best young talents leave Hong Kong at 19 or 20 and stop playing football”.
