Defending champions Leicester City have included last year's Player of the Tournament Harry Panayiotou in their 10-man squad for the HKFC Citibank Soccer Sevens, which kicks off at Hong Kong Football Club on Friday.
Aston Villa are also bringing a former player of the tournament, 21-year-old Daniel Johnson, who received the award after the Jamaica-born midfielder led the five-time champions to the final in 2012.
Jack Grealish is also in a strong Villa squad and is set for his third straight Soccer Sevens, just weeks after the Republic of Ireland under-21 winger made his first-team debut against Manchester City in this month’s Premier League run-in.
Winning the Cup was a terrific achievement for us. The players are looking forward to coming back and trying to defend the title
Villa are pooled with Leicester in group D, along with HKFA under-21 and Yee League Select.
Leicester, whose first team won the Championship last month to earn promotion to the this year-15 Premier League, upset 2012 champions Newcastle United 2-0 to win last year’s Cup final in only their second Soccer Sevens appearance.
Jon Rudkin, the club’s academy director, has retained Panayiotou and four others from last year’s winning team – midfielders Jak McCourt and Michael Cain, centre back Alie Sesay and goalkeeper Adam Smith.
He said his charges were geared up for their title defence. “Winning the Cup was a terrific achievement for us. It’s something the players have consistently spoken about … and they’ve been looking forward to coming back and trying to defend the title again.”