Hong Kong teams 'could play in China competitions' in bid to benefit from mainland's soccer revolution

The oft-mooted idea of a Hong Kong team taking part in China competitions could be back on the agenda as the HKFA tries to come up with ways to benefit from the mainland’s football explosion.

Chinese teams have stunned world football in recent weeks by paying massive fees for players who never previously would have considered moving to China.

Many of mainland China’s biggest companies and richest men are eager to associate themselves with football now, after president Xi Jinping demanded that sport in general and football in particular improve greatly and becomes a much larger part of the economy.

So far the effect on Hong Kong has mainly been limited to several of the national team’s players moving to the mainland for far more lucrative contracts than they can earn locally.

But now the Hong Kong Football Association are seeking to come up with more concrete ways to benefit from the revolution going on across the border.