Veronica Chan, ‘the mother of Asian women’s football’ dies, aged 102

Known lovingly as the “mother of Asian women’s football”, the founding president of the Hong Kong Ladies Football Association (HKLFA) Veronica Chan Yiu-kam has died, aged 102. Pui Kwan-kay, president of the Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA), said Chan died on Saturday morning at her home in Tin Shui Wai. In a statement, her family praised her as “a strong woman who contributed to society and was well respected by others”, while the HKFA called her a “legendary figure” in local football, and a “pioneer and guardian” of the women’s game in Asia. Born in Hong Kong on September 26, 1922, Chan had long been a prominent figure in football, having held the post as vice-president of the HKFA for many years. Her dedication to the beautiful game had its roots in an infancy, when Chan was bitten by the bug. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HKFA (@hkfa_official) “When I was a kid I always played with my six brothers – never with my sisters,” she told the Post in 2003. “I loved football. I didn’t like dolls.” Chan dedicated a lifetime to the game and spent every cent, every minute of time and every ounce of energy on the sport. A marriage to Dr Bertcham Chiu But-york in 1954 united two families of property combining a husband and wife team with enough enthusiasm and wealth to make a difference. Chiu died in 1998. Three years after creating the HKLFA, Chan, in 1968, founded the Asian Women’s Football Federation together with Malaysia and Singapore and served as president. Seven years later, the first Asian Women’s Football Championship was held in Hong Kong. “I brought them up. I pushed them up to where they are now,” she said. “I take all the women’s players as my children. I love them very much.” She was also actively involved in men’s football, too. She was once the owner of multiple Hong Kong Division A teams, including Yuen Long, Rangers, Caroline Hill FC and Sea Bee. A HKFA journal referred Chan to as “the world’s first female team owner”. Derek Currie, who played for Rangers and was one of the first European footballers to play in Asia, said Chan was “liked a dear old aunt to me”. “Veronica was the first lady of Hong Kong football and did so much for the local game,” he told the Post. “She was instrumental in bringing Walter Gerrard, Jackie Trainer and myself to become the first full-time European footballers to Asia. Always helpful she had a great love of the game.” At the Fifa Women Symposium in Los Angeles in 2003, Sepp Blatter, then the president of the world governing body, hailed Chan as the “mother of women’s football”. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) later also called the Fujian native as the “mother of Asian women’s football”. Last May, at the 34th AFC Congress in Bangkok, Chan was awarded the AFC Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her unparalleled commitment, service and contribution to Asian football, particularly in the women’s game. In its statement, the HKFA said the recognition Chan received over the years was an affirmation of her lifelong efforts and a testimony to her silent hard work over countless years, while also praising her vision and courage helped write numerous legendary chapters for local football. “The passing of Dr Chan represents a great loss to the Hong Kong football community,” the statement read. “Her spirit will live on in our hearts, inspiring us to continue to promote the development of women’s football locally and in Asia, and to carry on her dream and mission.” Fellow local football figures including Philip Lee Fai-lup, the general secretary of Hong Kong Premier League (HKPL) outfit Rangers, also paid tribute to the late Chan. Lee heaped praises on Chan, lauding her to have “devoted most of her life, wealth and energy” to promoting Hong Kong football. “She invested in different teams, and was an important driving force for the prosperity of the Hong Kong football sector in that era, prompting many famous players to come to Hong Kong to play … with her extraordinary vision and foresight, she’s surely the first person in the history of Hong Kong football,” he wrote. Chan was famously known for her generosity, and she hired a helicopter to carry goalkeeper Chow Chee Keong from Boundary Street in Kowloon to the Hong Kong Stadium, when the Malaysian great was loaned by South China to the Caroline Hill football team for their game against Santos in 1972. The late Pele, one of the greatest players of all time, was then playing for the Brazilian outfit.

Veronica Chan, ‘the mother of Asian women’s football’ dies, aged 102

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The founder of the Hong Kong Ladies Football Association, Chan was revered around the world for her work in the game

The founder of the Hong Kong Ladies Football Association, Chan was revered around the world for her work in the game