Hong Kong coach Kim Pan-gon urges caution over pursuing Chinese Super League career
Changchun Yatai’s Jack Sealy and Guizhou Zhicheng’s Festus Baise play full 90 minutes last weekend
National team coach Kim Pan-gon has urged caution of a mass exodus of Hong Kong players to the Chinese Super League in pursuit of potentially lucrative contracts without the guarantee of regular first team football following the success and hopefully impact of Jack Sealy and Festus Baise.
Sealy played the full 90 minutes last weekend as Changchun Yatai lost 5-1 to the Oscar-led Shanghai SIPG, with Baise also playing the entire match as 2017 newcomers Guizhou Zhicheng shared a 1-1 draw with Liaoning Whowin in their season opener.
And that type of experience, plus that gained by Eastern players featuring in this year’s AFC Champions League for the first time as well as Kitchee in the continental play-offs, could be key as Hong Kong open their final round qualifying campaign for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup later this month with a tough away trip to Lebanon.
“If players are playing regularly in a higher league we are expecting it will be very helpful to get international experience in terms of competitiveness as they get used to playing in a competitive league,” said Kim.
“But there is some risk of some players playing in the China league and not playing, match fitness is the most important factor. The level of the league is important, but you need to play regularly. Only if that is the case, I would encourage our players to go overseas.”
Sealy only featured in six games for Changchun last season following his switch from South China ahead of the 2016 season, while Baise helped Guizhou earn promotion to the top flight from League One last season.