Hong Kong Football Club aiming to provide home for city’s leading young talents
Club’s Premier League future settled despite bottom-placed finish, coach hunting local players, with left-back Beattie set for Kitchee move
Hong Kong Premier League strugglers Football Club hope to entice some of the city’s brightest emerging talents, after they committed to playing in the top flight for at least the next two seasons.
A 4-0 thumping at home by Lee Man last weekend was their 17th defeat of the season, condemning the Happy Valley side to ending the campaign bottom of the table.
Chancy Cooke, the head coach, expects several players to leave the club, and left-back Callum Beattie has already signed a pre-contract agreement with Kitchee.
The team’s top-flight status was far from certain a year ago, before members voted in favour of continuing, and Cooke said the club would “definitely be there” through the end of the 2026-27 season, “barring relegation”.
It is highly unlikely that football bosses would demote Cooke’s team, with the Premier League operating with just nine clubs. And, despite a poor season, Football Club are drawing an average crowd of 619, the league’s fourth highest.
A fairly healthy 953 turned up for Sunday’s loss to Lee Man, their 12th league game without a victory.