AFC Cup: Kitchee replace Tai Po as Hong Kong team after HKPL champions pull out

Hong Kong Premier League champions have pulled out of AFC Cup and this season’s domestic league over financial concerns

Coronavirus leaves question marks over both Tai Po’s HKPL future and this season’s AFC Cup

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Kitchee and Wofoo Tai Po in AFC Cup action at Mong Kok Stadium last June. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 10:12am, 10 Jun 2020Updated: 10:07pm, 10 Jun 2020

Kitchee will replace Hong Kong Premier League champions Wofoo Tai Po in the AFC Cup, the Asian Football Confederation has announced.

Tai Po, who became the first district team to win the HKPL last season, have pulled out of both the domestic league and the AFC competition over financial struggles during the coronavirus pandemic.

The club also said it was considering its future in the top-flight HKPL, with the league giving them a mid-June deadline to decide on their 2020-21 season.

“Following the withdrawal of Hong Kong’s Wofoo Tai Po from the AFC Cup 2020, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed today that Kitchee SC (HKG) has been awarded a direct slot into the AFC Cup group stage as the highest ranked club in the play-off stage (EAST) based on the draw mechanism established before the start of the competition,” the AFC said in its statement.

Tai Po players celebrate after beating Kitchee in the AFC Cup last season. Photo: Facebook

In replacing Tai Po, Kitchee will join Taiwan’s Tatung FC and Macau’s CPK in group I, with the final spot being decided in a play-off between Ulaanbaatar City from Mongolia and Taiwan’s Taipower FC.

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