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Paul McNamara

The future of reigning Hong Kong Premier League champions Tai Po has been left shrouded in uncertainty, with the club’s owners reportedly considering pulling out at the end of the season.
Sources have told the South China Morning Post that Francis and Catherine Yip, the husband-and-wife pair, are considering cutting their ties after four years of bankrolling the district club.
The SCMP has also been told that none of the large number of players whose contracts expire this summer have been offered renewals for next season.
“It’s not easy to talk now, I don’t know what will happen but I want them to continue,” head coach Lee Chi-kin said after his side were beaten 2-1 by Southern on Saturday. “We will try our best to fight in every game.”
With Tai Po’s hopes of retaining their title long since over, the FA Cup represents the only chance to secure revenue-generating AFC Champions League Two football for the second successive season.

But winning that competition for the first time since 2009 is a tall order, given they face runaway league leaders Kitchee in the quarter-finals. Victory next Saturday would then likely set up a semi-final against a strong Lee Man side.
The FA Cup final is on May 30, leaving little time to extend players’ contracts or sign new ones in the event of victory.
The Yips are popular owners, although their reign has not been without controversy. Last year, they scrapped plans to rename the club Tai Po Dreamchasers because, according to Francis Yip, “fans think we’ve reached the dream”.
In 2024, they funded and oversaw the film Dreams of Glory in an attempt to “promote local football, and try to attract more people to matches”.
The owners handed Lee a budget for this season that outstripped the HK$15 million [US$1.9 million] they provided for last term’s title-winning campaign.
Injuries have undermined Tai Po’s league season and Lee, who led his side to the Senior Shield title last month, expects to be without the attacking quartet of Igor Sartori, Patrick Valverde, James Temelkovski and Lucas Silva for the Kitchee quarter-final.
He made a number of changes for the meeting with Southern, a decision that was not unanimously popular in the dressing room, then watched key centre-back Gabriel Cividini collect a red card that will rule him out of next weekend’s cup clash.
As always, Francis Yip addressed players and staff immediately after the match, but his short speech was met with a noticeably muted reaction.
Two years ago, Yip voiced his frustration over being repeatedly knocked back in his quest to develop a new training ground, laying the blame at the government’s door.
And on the eve of this season, Yip said plans were “going in the right direction” but obstacles remained.
“Having money doesn’t mean you can buy land and create a football field,” he said. “We’re always pushing the district. If we make more noise, through the team getting more attention, then people might be more willing to help.”

Francis Yip has previously acknowledged that no owners or sponsors in Hong Kong football “expect a return”, and said he and his wife shared the motivation to “ensure people have a future”.
“Football can help more people than we realise,” he said. “We have around 22 players. That is 22 families.”
Lee quit his first spell in charge, immediately after leading Tai Po to their first league title in 2018-19, because of enormous budget cuts.
Formed in 2002, the club voluntarily dropped out of the top-flight during the Covid-affected 2019-20 season. They self-relegated for the following 2020-21 season, returning to the Premier League in 2022-23 after finishing a curtailed First Division campaign top of the table.
Lee revitalised the club after being appointed for a second time in 2023, guiding Tai Po to a runners-up finish, then their second league title last season.
In this season’s ACL2, they beat Australian team Macarthur, and Cong An Hanoi of Vietnam, as well as sharing a roller coaster 3-3 draw with Beijing Guoan.
In Sartori, Valverde, Temelkovski, Mikael Guterres and Michel Renner, Tai Po boast a horde of the league’s best foreigners, while their local stars include Remi Dujardin and Lee Ka-ho, and city team players Philip Chan Siu-kwan, Tse Ka-wing and Fernando.


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Uncertainty surrounds Tai Po future as owners consider pulling plug on football club

Francis Yip addresses players and staff following Tai Po’s league defeat by Southern on Saturday. Photo: Eugene Lee

A handful of Tai Po fans greet the players ahead of Saturday’s match. Photo: Eugene Lee

Catherine and Francis Yip join Tai Po players, staff and fans to celebrate beating Cong An Hanoi. Photo: Elson Li

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Herve Dagorne leads Ceci Lee around the velodrome during pre-National Games training. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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Sport

Football

Head coach Lee Chi-kin in dark over whether owners Francis and Catherine Yip will continue backing district club beyond this season


Head coach Lee Chi-kin in dark over whether owners Francis and Catherine Yip will continue backing district club beyond this season.


Hong Kong Premier League

Lee Chi-kin

James Temelkovski

Uncertainty surrounds Tai Po future as owners consider pulling plug on football club

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Head coach Lee Chi-kin in dark over whether owners Francis and Catherine Yip will continue backing district club beyond this season

Head coach Lee Chi-kin in dark over whether owners Francis and Catherine Yip will continue backing district club beyond this season