Opinion | Left Field: Easing the way to use 'outside' talent in Hong Kong football

National team need a mechanism to help foreign players represent the city without having to give up their passports

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Middle School students in a soccer class in Hangzhou in the eastern province of Zhejiang. With backing from the country's most powerful football fan, Chinese President Xi Jinping, the government is investing in the long-term development of the sport. Photos: AP

Published: 1:43am, 10 May 2015

The first step in Hong Kong football's campaign to get Fifa to treat the city as a special case - dispense with the use of a passport as proof of nationality - was taken a week ago when officials approached legal counsel in the Asian Football Confederation to get a feel for their case. The outcome of that meeting in Bahrain is that it will be a long march, according to Hong Kong Football Association chief executive Mark Sutcliffe, but at least the first step has been taken.

Unhappy with the progress of the national team, who are ranked 169th and sandwiched between Yemen and Grenada, the HKFA wants to broaden its use of player resources.

It wants to tap into the increasingly large pool of foreign-born players who have been here for more than seven years but cannot represent Hong Kong because they don't have an SAR passport, which is the Fifa requirement aligned with International Olympic Council eligibility rules.

If the mainland amends its nationality laws allowing for dual citizenship, then Hong Kong can tap much-needed foreign talent

Sutcliffe wants to ask Fifa for dispensation so non-Chinese permanent residents can use their permanent ID cards as proof of nationality. After all, having lived in Hong Kong for seven years must count for something, and is enough proof of loyalty to your adopted country.

It's funny when you compare the eligibility requirements between two of the most popular team sports in the world, rugby union and soccer. In rugby the time requirement is just three years' residency, a rule which World Rugby said last week that it was looking at tightening, possibly to five years.

What makes matters more complex in Hong Kong is that it's not easy to acquire an SAR passport. For one thing you have to forsake your birthright and renounce your old passport before becoming a Chinese citizen.

It is not easy in Hong Kong to acquire an SAR passport because applicants must renounce their old passport before becoming a Chinese citizen.

Even mainland China is having second thoughts. It has been reported by mainland media that there are moves to amend its nationality laws to allow foreigners to be selected for the national team. President Xi Jinping has declared himself China's No 1 soccer fan and is keen to see the national squad reach unprecedented heights.

If there are any changes on this front, allowing players with dual nationality to represent China, Hong Kong, too, will benefit. But instead of waiting in hope, the HKFA has taken a positive step and is carrying its case to Fifa.