Hong Kong national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Hong Kong

Nickname(s)	The Dragons (蛟龍) The Strength (勁揪)
Association	Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) 中國香港足球總會
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	EAFF (East Asia)
Head coach	Ashley Westwood
Captain	Yapp Hung Fai
Most caps	Yapp Hung Fai (99)
Top scorer	Chan Siu Ki (40)
Home stadium	Hong Kong Stadium Mong Kok Stadium
FIFA code	HKG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	140 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest	90 (February 1996)
Lowest	169 (November 2012)
Elo ranking
Current	156 10 (3 March 2019)
Highest	58 (February 1948)
Lowest	169 (August 2018)
First international
Hong Kong 3–2 Vietnam  (Mong Kok, Hong Kong; 20 April 1947)
Biggest win
Hong Kong 15–0 Guam  (Taipei, Taiwan; 7 March 2005)
Biggest defeat
China 7–0 Hong Kong  (Guangzhou, China; 17 November 2004)  Hong Kong 0–7 Paraguay  (So Kon Po, Hong Kong; 17 November 2010)  Hong Kong 0–7 Argentina  (So Kon Po, Hong Kong; 14 October 2014)
Asian Cup
Appearances	4 (first in 1956)
Best result	Third place (1956)
EAFF Championship
Appearances	4 (first in 2003)
Best result	Fourth place (2003, 2010, 2019, 2022)
Medal record Men's football AFC Asian Cup Bronze 1956 Hong Kong Team

The Hong Kong national football team represents Hong Kong in international football games. It is controlled by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA). FIFA, the world football body, calls the team Hong Kong, China.

Hong Kong hosted the first ever AFC Asian Cup in 1956. They finished in third place that year. They also reached the semifinals in 1964. After a long wait, Hong Kong qualified for the Asian Cup again in 2023. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. One of their most famous wins was a 2–1 upset against China in 1985. This helped them move to the next round of the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Hong Kong has also played in the EAFF E-1 Football Championship six times.

History of Hong Kong Football

Early Days and Joining FIFA

Before Hong Kong joined FIFA in 1954, they played in local tournaments. One of the oldest was the Hong Kong–Macau Interport tournament, which started in 1937. There was also the Shanghai-Hong Kong Interport, first held in 1908. In these early days, the team had both Chinese and foreign players. Famous players like Lee Wai Tong from Hong Kong played for the China national team in the 1936 and 1948 Summer Olympics.

After World War II, Hong Kong played its first international match in 1949 against South Korea. Their first victory was a 4–0 win against South Korea in 1953.

The Hong Kong FA became a member of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation in 1954. This meant Hong Kong could play official international matches against other countries.

Asian Cup Success and World Cup Qualifiers

Hong Kong played in three of the first four Asian Cup tournaments. They finished third in the 1956 Asian Cup when they hosted it. At that time, many top Hong Kong players also played for the Republic of China (Taiwan) team.

Hong Kong has never made it to the World Cup. However, they had a very memorable win during the 1986 World Cup qualifiers. On May 19, 1985, Hong Kong played China in Beijing. Hong Kong needed to win to move forward, while China only needed a draw. Hong Kong, led by coach Kwok Ka Ming, won 2–1. Goals from Cheung Chi Tak and Ku Kam Fai helped them win the group. They later lost to Japan in the next stage.

In the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, Hong Kong faced a sad moment. A match-fixing scandal happened, where some players were found guilty of taking bribes to lose a game against Thailand.

Recent Times and Asian Cup Return

In 2015, there was a lot of excitement for football in Hong Kong. This was during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Hong Kong was in the same group as their rival, China. Many local fans became very interested, and all four home matches were sold out. Hong Kong had 4 wins, 2 draws against China, and 2 losses.

In 2021, Jørn Andersen became the new head coach. He helped Hong Kong qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. They beat Afghanistan 2–1 and Cambodia 3–0. This was a big achievement, as it was their first time in the tournament in 55 years! To prepare for the Asian Cup, Hong Kong had a surprising 2–1 friendly win against China in January 2024. This was their first win against China in 29 years.

At the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, Hong Kong lost their first match 3–1 to UAE. Chan Siu Kwan scored Hong Kong's goal, which was the 1,000th goal in Asian Cup history! They finished at the bottom of their group after losing to Iran (1–0) and Palestine (3–0).

Jørn Andersen left his role in May 2024. In August 2024, Ashley Westwood became the new head coach. In September 2024, the team traveled to Fiji to play friendly matches against Solomon Islands and Fiji. They also played in Europe for the first time, against the Liechtenstein national football team in November.

Team Look and Home Ground

Kits and Crest

The Hong Kong team's home kit is usually a red shirt, red shorts, and red or white socks. Their away kit is white shirts, white shorts, and red or white socks.

Kit supplier	Period
Puma	1970s–2000
Diadora	2000–2005
Adidas	2005–2011
Nike	2011–present

The team's badge features a Chinese dragon. This dragon comes from the HKFA logo, which has always been the team's symbol. The current team emblem started being used on jerseys on May 31, 2011.

Home Stadium

The main stadium for the team is Hong Kong Stadium. For some friendly games and smaller qualification matches, the team often plays at the Mong Kok Stadium in Kowloon. This stadium was reopened in 2011 after being renovated. The Jockey Club HKFA Football Training Centre is where the national and youth teams train.

Rivalries

China

Hong Kong has a special rivalry with China. This rivalry started in 1978. A famous moment was Hong Kong's surprising 2–1 win in Beijing in 1985. This win caused some upset among Chinese fans. Since then, China has generally had more success, but the rivalry remains important in Hong Kong. On January 1, 2024, Hong Kong beat China 2–1 in a friendly match. This was their first win against China in 29 years.

Macau

The Hong Kong–Macau rivalry has been played between the Hong Kong and Macau football associations since 1937.

Team Players

Current Squad

Here are the players chosen for the upcoming preliminary round of the 2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship in December 2024.

The number of games played (caps) and goals scored are correct as of November 19, 2024, after the match against  Mauritius.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Yapp Hung Fai	(1990-03-21) 21 March 1990 (age 35)	99	0	Eastern
	1GK	Tse Ka Wing	(1999-09-04) 4 September 1999 (age 25)	7	0	Tai Po
	1GK	Ng Wai Him	(2002-06-30) 30 June 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Southern
	2DF	Hélio	(1986-01-31) 31 January 1986 (age 39)	38	1	Kitchee
	2DF	Tsui Wang Kit	(1997-01-05) 5 January 1997 (age 28)	24	0	Yunnan Yukun
	2DF	Shinichi Chan	(2002-09-05) 5 September 2002 (age 22)	22	1	Shanghai Shenhua
	2DF	Oliver Gerbig	(1998-12-12) 12 December 1998 (age 26)	14	0	Dalian Yingbo
	2DF	Fernando	(1986-11-14) 14 November 1986 (age 38)	12	1	Kitchee
	2DF	Leon Jones	(1998-02-28) 28 February 1998 (age 27)	5	0	Kitchee
	2DF	Alexander Jojo	(1999-02-11) 11 February 1999 (age 26)	2	0	Eastern
	2DF	Anthony Pinto	(2006-02-23) 23 February 2006 (age 19)	1	1	Loughborough Students
	2DF	Nicholas Benavides	(2001-11-05) 5 November 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Tai Po
	2DF	Timothy Chow	(2006-03-11) 11 March 2006 (age 19)	1	0	Lee Man
	2DF	Dudu	(1990-04-17) 17 April 1990 (age 35)	0	0	Lee Man
	3MF	Wong Wai	(1992-09-17) 17 September 1992 (age 32)	50	5	Lee Man
	3MF	Sun Ming Him	(2000-06-19) 19 June 2000 (age 25)	32	2	Cangzhou Mighty Lions
	3MF	Chan Siu Kwan	(1992-08-01) 1 August 1992 (age 32)	28	4	Tai Po
	3MF	Wu Chun Ming	(1997-11-21) 21 November 1997 (age 27)	26	0	Lee Man
	3MF	Yu Joy Yin	(2001-10-08) 8 October 2001 (age 23)	10	0	Eastern
	3MF	Ngan Cheuk Pan	(1998-01-22) 22 January 1998 (age 27)	7	0	Kitchee
	3MF	Lam Hin Ting	(1999-12-09) 9 December 1999 (age 25)	5	0	Eastern
	4FW	Matt Orr	(1997-01-01) 1 January 1997 (age 28)	32	8	Shenzhen Peng City
	4FW	Everton Camargo	(1991-05-25) 25 May 1991 (age 34)	12	7	Lee Man
	4FW	Poon Pui Hin	(2000-10-03) 3 October 2000 (age 24)	15	3	Kitchee
	4FW	Michael Udebuluzor	(2004-04-01) 1 April 2004 (age 21)	14	2	VfR Mannheim
	4FW	Juninho	(1990-12-11) 11 December 1990 (age 34)	12	2	Kitchee
	4FW	Stefan Pereira	(1988-04-16) 16 April 1988 (age 37)	11	0	Southern
	4FW	Mahama Awal	(1991-06-10) 10 June 1991 (age 34)	7	0	Southern
	4FW	Ng Yu Hei	(2006-02-13) 13 February 2006 (age 19)	3	0	Eastern
	4FW	Matthew Slattery	(2005-04-05) 5 April 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Kitchee

Most Appearances

Yapp Hung Fai is Hong Kong's most capped player with 99 appearances.

The player with the most games played for Hong Kong is Yapp Hung Fai, with 99 appearances.

Top Goalscorers

Chan Siu Ki is Hong Kong's top scorer with 40 goals.

The player who has scored the most goals for Hong Kong is Chan Siu Ki, with 40 goals.

Captains

Huang Yang was the captain of Hong Kong from 2018 to 2023.

The captain of the Hong Kong team is a very important role. The current captain is Yapp Hung Fai. Some notable past captains include Huang Yang, who led the team from 2018 to 2023, and Lee Kin Wo.

Achievements and Tournaments

AFC Asian Cup

Hong Kong has participated in the AFC Asian Cup several times. Their best result was finishing third in 1956.

AFC Asian Cup history
Year	Round	Score	Result
1956	Finals	Hong Kong 2–3  Israel	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 2–2  South Korea	Draw
	Finals	Hong Kong 2–2  South Vietnam	Draw
1964	Finals	Hong Kong 0–1  Israel	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–1  South Korea	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 1–3  India	Loss
1968	Finals	Hong Kong 0–2  Iran	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 1–6  Israel	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 1–1  Republic of China	Draw
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–2  Burma	Loss
2023	Group Stage	Hong Kong 1–3  United Arab Emirates	Loss
	Group Stage	Hong Kong 0–1  Iran	Loss
	Group Stage	Hong Kong 0–3  [[Palestinian National Authority {{{altlink}}}|Palestinian National Authority]]	Loss

East Asian Football Championship

Hong Kong has also competed in the East Asian Football Championship several times.

East Asian Football Championship history
Year	Round	Score	Result
Hong Kong 1995	Group stage	Hong Kong 0–3  Japan	Loss
	Group stage	Hong Kong 0–0  China	Draw
	Group stage	Hong Kong 2–3  South Korea	Loss
	Third place match	Hong Kong 1–1  China	Draw
1998	Finals	Hong Kong 0–1  China	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 1–5  Japan	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–1  South Korea	Loss
2003	Finals	Hong Kong 1–3  South Korea	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–1  Japan	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 1–3  China	Loss
2010	Finals	Hong Kong 0–5  South Korea	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–3  Japan	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–2  China	Loss
2019	Finals	Hong Kong 0–2  South Korea	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–5  Japan	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–2  China	Loss
2022	Finals	Hong Kong 0–6  Japan	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–3  South Korea	Loss
	Finals	Hong Kong 0–1  China	Loss

Guangdong–Hong Kong Cup

This competition happens every year. It has two games, one at each team's home stadium. The team that wins both games combined becomes the champion. Hong Kong has won this cup 17 times.

Honours

Continental Awards

• AFC Asian Cup
  • Third place (1): 1956

Regional Awards

• Dynasty Cup
  • Third place (1): 1995

Friendly Competition Awards

• Guangdong–Hong Kong Cup
  • Champions (17)
• Lunar New Year Cup
  • Champions (8)
• Merdeka Tournament
  • Third place (1): 1974
• Beijing Invited Tournament
  • Runner-up: (1) 1977
• Long Teng Cup
  • Champions (1): 2011
• 2024 Tri-Nations Series
  • Champions (1)

Images for kids

• 

  Hong Kong's 2023 Asian Cup team.

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Hong Kong para niños

• Sport in Hong Kong
  • Football in Hong Kong
• Hong Kong women's national football team