For a brief though memorable time, Carles Martinez was a rampaging fullback, hurtling up and down the wing for Southern District in HK and though he was passionate about playing the beautiful game, he was never under any illusions that ‘playing’ would last forever. Martinez always had his eye on alternative future careers within the game that he loves.  Photo – Martinez at Southern. Source: Southern Facebook Martinez is, as keen academically as he was at crunching tackles, so while he was running across football pitches around Hong Kong, he continued his university studies and the result ..read more

On Thursday night, 21 March 2024, the Hong Kong representative team suffered a 0-2 loss to Uzbekistan in the 2nd round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Despite a decline of form since the Asian Cup, fan support for the team has gained momentum and allowed for an impressive atmosphere in the sold-out Mong Kok Stadium. Ticket sales for the match have proven once again that the Hong Kong team has outgrown the Mong Kok turf by now. Within a few hours, all of the 6000 tickets on sale were gone, making it a return to the Kowloon venue that closely resembled the hype and glory of 2015, when the team ..read more

Was this the greatest night in Hong Kong football? The local Hong Kong media first issued the simple yet effective battle cry “Wear red and go and support South China”. From there the momentum stirred and the message was repeated and drummed in. On October 21, 2009, something truly amazing happened, local HK fans heeded the call and descended to Hong Kong stadium in their tens of thousands. The occasion? The rare opportunity to see the most popular team in the city, South China, attempt to overhaul a 2-1 first-leg loss to Kuwait SC in the AFC Cup semi-finals 2009. For local fans starved o ..read more

The 2023/24 football season in Hong Kong has just reached its halfway mark. Offside.hk look back at the last six months to see if everything is going according to plan for the 11 Premier League clubs. Hong Kong’s first appearance in the Asian Cup for in over 50 years meant that there was a lengthy break in the league calendar since December. Apart from some predictability, with Lee Man and Kitchee being found at the top, a pack of mid table sides are also battling for third place, while HKU23 and Sham Shui Po find themselves at the bottom. With affordable ticket prices and stadiums all across ..read more

Three Hong Kong players earned contracts with mainland Chinese clubs this window, bringing the total number of players in China to eight. Although Hong Kong’s winter transfer window closed on 29 January, the transfer window in China remained open until midnight on 28 February. Three Hong Kong players, Oliver Gerbig, Sun Ming-him and Alex Dujardin were transferred to clubs on the mainland, making it the busiest window for Hong Kongers moving to China since the winter of 2016. The total number of players registered on Chinese squads now stands at eight – with five plying their trade in the Chine ..read more

Players Luciano, Brian Fok, and To Chun-kiu, and a betting agent have been charged by the ICAC for illegal gambling and bribery over match-fixing. The first hearing was held Thursday before the judge adjourned the case until 27 June. The ICAC have laid their first criminal charges since announcing ‘Green Grass’ – an operation aimed at prosecuting match-fixing within Hong Kong football. The anti-corruption body had previously announced in May 2023 that they had detained 23 individuals, including 12 players and coaches, for questioning. Four individuals – including former Premier League players ..read more

For the second year in a row, and the fourth in six finals, Kitchee won the Senior Shield once again on 11 Feb 2024 in front of 4570 people at Mong Kok Stadium. But it was far from a straightforward victory. A dramatic match saw fifteen yellow cards, three reds, a retaken penalty for each side, and a late winner. A much better advertisement for Hong Kong football than the Inter Miami farce of last week. Kitchee welcomed back Paulo Cesar in goal for the first time since the end of November, along with six Asian Cup players returning for their first Kitchee games in months. Shinichi Chan missed ..read more

The Hong Kong team appears to be headed in the right direction despite the team’s elimination from the Asian Cup. Whether they can stay that way depends on whether crucial steps are taken. Hong Kong’s tournament is over. After surprisingly strong performances against the UAE and Iran, the team were unceremoniously dumped out of the tournament by Palestine. It is, perhaps, a cruel way to exit the Asian Cup for Hong Kong who won plaudits from observers inside the city and abroad for their high energy, high pressing style of play under head coach Jörn Andersen. With a win against Palestine, Hong ..read more

After Hong Kong’s respectable performances in the first two games against UAE and Iran, hopes were high that the team could eventually clinch victory in their final group stage match against Palestine. When China finished their group on 3rd place with just two points on Monday, some enthusiastic fans were even speculating that Hong Kong may qualify for the Round of 16 if they could finish as second runners-up, albeit still relying on the help of other teams. The long anticipated “final” for Hong Kong was also manifested in an impressive fan turnout, similar in size to the previous crowd at the ..read more

Another valiant effort ended in defeat for Hong Kong – this time against Iran. But if fans are disappointed to lose against Iran and the UAE, have we entered a new era where moral victories are not enough? One by one, the players looked to each other as referee Hanna Hattab flew the final whistle. Some, including Vas Nuñez, fell to the floor with his hands on his face. Hong Kong had been expected to lose by multiple goals against an Iran team who were ranked 129 places above them. Yet, only a 24th minute goal by Mehdi Ghayedi separated the two sides in a match that could’ve gone either way. Th ..read more