Xinhua News Agency reporter Wei Hua
8, Hong Kong, China's men's football team in the Asian Cup qualifiers in the first match against Afghanistan, targeting the 2023 Asian Cup final round. Fok Kai Shan, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Football Association and executive member of the AFC, revealed that the team is gearing up to stand out in Group D. The team is also preparing for its first match against Afghanistan in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifying Tournament.
In this qualifier, Hong Kong is in the same group as India and Cambodia, and the 11 advancing teams will compete for a place in the Asian Cup. It will be the first test for team head coach Anderson since he took over. Although the epidemic has hampered preparations for the tournament, the Hong Kong team is still focusing on recovering their fitness and strengthening their technical and tactical training.
Fok Kee San emphasized that the team has met the coach's expectations despite the defeat against Malaysia in the warm-up match. He expects the team to show a new style under the guidance of Anderson.
In addition to the Asian Cup qualifiers, the Hong Kong team will also play in the East Asian Cup in Japan in July. Fok Kai-san was elected vice president of the East Asian Football Confederation (EAFC), and he is looking forward to the East Asian Cup as his first major tournament after taking over the post.
Although the Hong Kong team is relatively weak in the East Asian Cup, Fok Kai-san believes that playing against high-level teams is a good opportunity to learn. He hopes to promote the development of Asian soccer through his efforts and host a world-class tournament at the Kai Tak Sports Park in 2023.
The outstanding performance of Hong Kong player Tai Wai Chun in the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup and his active presence in the Chinese Super League and the Chinese League One have been recognized by Fok Kai Shan. He said Hong Kong is happy to see players going to the Mainland to develop and improve their soccer skills.
Hong Kong has a strong soccer atmosphere with 317 existing soccer pitches. Fok Kai-san revealed that the HKFA is actively promoting soccer and arranging live TV broadcast of all Hong Kong Premier League and Cup matches in the new season to attract more sponsorship.
Although the epidemic has brought challenges to Hong Kong soccer, the HKFA has worked hard to bring soccer back to the public through special arrangements and close contacts. Fok said that with the stabilization of the epidemic and the gradual restart of soccer activities, he looked forward to bringing more good news to the Hong Kong football market in the future.
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