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Hong Kong Premier League
SportFootball

Eastern banking on promise of youth as big spenders make Hong Kong Premier League a 2-horse race before season starts

  • Head coach Roberto Losada says financial power of Kitchee and Lee Man makes title almost a foregone conclusion
  • Hong Kong football needs to look beyond city’s borders to raise money and improve competitiveness of the domestic game

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Eastern players warm up during a training session in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Mike Chan

Big spending Kitchee and Lee Man are in a Hong Kong Premier League of their own with the rest “fighting for third”, Eastern head coach Roberto Losada said on Thursday.

Speaking at an open training session in Tseung Kwan O, Losada described the competitiveness within the league as “not good enough”, but said that would not deter him from trying to get his side playing better football than last season.

The Spaniard also said he believed that Hong Kong needed to look across the border to mainland China, with the commercial opportunities that brings, if it wanted its top flight to grow and standard of football to improve.

Eastern finished fourth in the league last season and reached the final of the Senior Shield, where they lost 4-1 on penalties to Kitchee in a game they could have won.

Despite winning the league, FA Cup and shield last year, Kitchee have not rested on their laurels this summer, and announced the signing of former Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi on Wednesday.
Goalkeeper Yapp Hung-fai will be staying with Eastern for next season. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Goalkeeper Yapp Hung-fai will be staying with Eastern for next season. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

“The squad that they have, and the money they spent, they have to fight for the Asian Champions League so that’s understandable,” Losada said.

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