Hong Kong Football Club

Football club infobox
clubname = Hong Kong Football Club


fullname = Hong Kong Football Club
nickname =
founded = 1886
ground = Sports Road

Introduction

The Hong Kong Football Club (Abbreviation: HKFC; zh-t|t=linktext|香|港|足|球|會) is a private members sports and social club in Hong Kong. It is situated in Happy Valley, with the sports pitches being inside the Happy Valley Racecourse.

History

Hong Kong Football Club was formed in 1886, following a meeting that was held at the Victoria Recreation Gymnasium on 12 February 1886.cite book |last= Twydell |first= Dave |title= The Little Red Book of Chinese Football |publisher= Yore Publications |year= 1994 |isbn= 1-8744-2780-1 ] The names derives from its establishment as a club for playing Association and Rugby Football (now known as rugby union) - not just as an association football (soccer) club as many think today.

The first sport the club played was in fact rugby union, on 16 February 1886, four days after the club formed. The first soccer match of the club was played on 16 March 1886, against the Royal Engineers.

The now famous Hong Kong International Rugby Sevens was founded by and first played at the Club in 1976. Sports Road continued to be the venue until it outgrew its home and was moved to the Hong Kong Government Stadium (now the Hong Kong Stadium) in 1982.

The clubhouse and pitches were situated adjacent to the racecourse. But in 1995, as part of a redevelopment of the racecourse, the club into a brand new, 64,000 square metre, purpose-built home, inside the racetrack.

In 2006, HKFC celebrated their 120th year as a club.

Present Day

Today HKFC has facilities for Lawn bowls, rugby, football, hockey, squash, and tennis. The indoor sports hall has facilities for netball, basketball and badminton. The swimming pool complex is used for triathlon training.

Since 1986 the Club has held an International 10-a-side rugby tournament, which has grown to become a leading competition, hosting international standard teams from around the world. It is held at the Club in the week immediately preceding the Hong Kong Sevens.

Another well known event held at Sports Road is the International Soccer 7s Tournament. Primarily comprising of teams filled with junior players, it attracts international teams from the English and Scottish Premiership, J-League (Japan) and Dutch First Division.

ports

Rugby

With over 300 Members, the Club supports 7 senior rugby teams within the domestic league (including a ladies team) and approximately 400 Mini Rugby (4 to 12 year olds) and 120 Colts Rugby (12 to 18 year olds) Youth Rugby players, making it one of the largest Rugby Clubs in Hong Kong.

These teams compete in every local league and cup competition, with the 1st XV having been crowned Grand Champions of the league on many occasions - most recently completing the league and cup double in the 2007/08 season.

occer

While the soccer team has won many titles in the second-tier competition in recent years, they have rarely enjoyed success when playing against the professional sides in the First Division.

In the past few years, HKFC opted not to take promotion to the First Division. In 2006, finally, the club accepted the promotion after winning the Second Division.

After showing initial promise, they lost 4 league matches in a row between March and April 2007, and were relegated to the Second Division.

Honours

*Hong Kong First Division League
**Winners (1): 1919–20
*Hong Kong Senior Shield
**Winners (5): 1898–99, 1907–08, 1915–16, 1918–19, 1921–22

References

External links

* [http://www.hkfc.com.hk Hong Kong Football Club offical website]
* [http://www.hkfcrugby.com/ HKFC Rugby Section]
* [http://www.hkfcsoccer.com/ HKFC Soccer Section]