Only six teams sign up for coming Premier League season amid Olympics success-inspired government push for sports development

Hong Kong Football Association still working on getting more teams to join from lower divisions

Hong Kong Football Club, North District and Tuen Mun are possibilities before new season kicks off in September

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Kitchee celebrate as Hong Kong Premier League champions when lifting the title in May but there may only be six teams in the top tier in the new season. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Published: 5:51pm, 11 Aug 2021Updated: 10:28pm, 11 Aug 2021

Hong Kong football looks set to go through another cold winter period despite the government’s sports development push after landmark success at the Tokyo Olympics.

As millions of dollars in public money are in the pipeline to boost sports in the next couple of years, the Hong Kong Premier League may kick off its new season with only six teams following the withdrawal of TSW Pegasus.

“The economy is still struggling under the pandemic and as a result, it will be difficult to get new money to invest in local football,” said association chairman Pui Kwan-kay, who is also the chef de mission of the Hong Kong delegation that claimed the city’s best Olympic results in Tokyo. “We feel sorry that Pegasus have decided to pull out and it is hardly ideal if there are only six teams in the top-tier of the competition.

Hong Kong international Sun Ming-him (in yellow) plays for Pegasus in their league encounter against Kitchee but Pegasus will not be seen next season. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

“We are trying to work something out to increase the number of participating teams but it’s not an easy task. But with more and more people in Hong Kong getting interested in sports following our Olympic success, it may help bring more people into football matches and attract more commercial sponsors and our ‘winter days’ can gradually pass.”