After advancing to the semi-final of the Sapling Cup, Happy Valley were suddenly suspended from the competition. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)

While football in Hong Kong has always faced difficulties when it comes to the economic viability of the professional league system, the COVID-19 pandemic has only aggravated the situation. Last year, reigning champions Tai Po were forced into relegation, followed by fellow district side Yuen Long. In the end, only eight clubs registered for the 2020/21 championship. However, it seems that the long-term consequences have yet to fully play out.

On Monday, Feb 22, the Disciplinary Committee of the Hong Kong Football Association suddenly announced that two Premier League sides, Tin Shui Wai Pegasus and Happy Valley, are in breach of the regulations after having missed to pay the required insurance premiums. They were suspended from all competitions - effective immediately - and would only be allowed to resume seven days after meeting the outstanding payments.

This was a particularly serious blow for Happy Valley, who had just advanced to the Sapling Cup semi-finals after beating Southern District 2-0 on 20 February. They would have faced Lee Man in the cup tie on Feb 24, but the HKFA cancelled the game, suggesting that the Bees would be awarded a 3-0 victory at the expense of the Greens. The final decision is still subject to an appeal, which was filed by Happy Valley. Due to a conflict of interest, HKFA chairman Pui Kwan-kay, who is also a board member at Happy Valley, preferred not to comment on the decision by the independent Disciplinary Committee, but he admitted that the ruling was quite sudden.

Lee Man are still one of the main title contenders this season. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)

In a first reaction, Pegasus declared that they have immediately paid the outstanding sum and are currently waiting for further instructions, if they are allowed to play their upcoming Premier League game on Sunday, 28 February, against Rangers, as it would still be within the suggested seven-day suspension period. They received some unlikely support in Rangers chairman Philip Lee, who made clear that he would prefer the game to go ahead, instead of just being awarded three points by default.

In the meantime, the situation of Happy Valley seems to be much more worrying. While the club has filed an appeal, it is till unclear if they have actually paid the owed sum yet. At the same time, new rumors have emerged that Happy Valley could be close to filing bankruptcy altogether, following reports that they previously struggled to pay salaries on time. This would be indeed a serious hit to local football, that has seen some of its biggest teams disappear in amateur divisions recently, including the record title holders South China. If Happy Valley really dissolve, the Premier League would also only be left with seven clubs for the rest of the season, further undermining the legitimacy for a fully professional league in the city.

Nonetheless, amidst all this drama, the HKFA released the long-awaited fixture schedule for the rest of the season. The regular season would now end on May 16, with the newly established play-off round finishing in late June.

Last weekend, all of the eight Premier League clubs restarted the season by completing the group stage of the Sapling Cup, with Lee Man and Kitchee advancing to the semi-finals from Group A, and Eastern and Happy Valley from Group B. On Wednesday, the four clubs would have continued with the semi-finals, but in the end only the archrival match-up between Kitchee and Eastern went ahead as planned – though relocated to Mong Kok Stadium to boost attendance for an early 7 pm kick-off. Around 1500 people showed up to witness Eastern edging out Kitchee with a 1-0 victory, courtesy of a goal by Sandro in the 35th minute. Emotions flared up in this well-known derby between the city’s two most ambitious sides, with several bookings on each side, culminating in a straight red card for Eastern striker Everton Camargo. In the end, Kitchee were unable to use the one-man advantage and had to give up on their objective to defend last year’s Sapling Cup title.

Sandro scored the match winner for Eastern against his former club in the Sapling Cup semi-final. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKFA)

Following the suspension of Happy Valley, it is expected that Eastern will take on Lee Man in the final, which has yet to be scheduled. A final decision by the Disciplinary Committee should be made soon.

For the coming weekend, two fixtures of the third Premier League round are also still in limbo, and it is not clear if the fixtures between Happy Valley and Eastern on Saturday, Feb 27, as well as Tin Shui Wai Pegasus and Rangers on Sunday, 28 February, are allowed to go ahead as planned. However, the other two games still offer some guaranteed action for local fans.

Southern and Kitchee will lock horns on Saturday evening, 7 pm. The game is currently scheduled for Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, but a move to Mong Kok Stadium could be likely if the Happy Valley match is canceled. Kitchee should be the clear favorites, with youngster Matthew Orr proving to be still on fire after scoring again two goals last Saturday. However, Kitchee are also known for hiccups against Southern in particular, so a competitive game is still on the cards. In the meantime, former FC Seoul and Beijing Guoan striker Dejan Damjanovic has just completed his 21 days of quarantine and fans may already be able to see him on the stands this weekend.

On Sunday, Resources Capital and Lee Man will have their match-up at Mong Kok Stadium as well, with the Bees still looking like a proper title contender this season, and as such they are expected to bag all three points.

So far, two Premier League rounds have been played at the end of last year, before the fourth wave forced the complete lockdown of sports venues. The current table leaders are Eastern on six points, followed by Southern on four and Pegasus on three. Happy Valley, Kitchee, and Rangers all share two points. Lee Man are on seventh with a single point, and the very bottom is occupied by newcomers Resources Capital.