The Hong Kong national football team (Chinese: 香港足球代表隊; Cantonese Yale: Hēunggóng jūkkàuh doihbíu deuih; recognised as Hong Kong, China by FIFA) represents Hong Kong in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China, the governing body for football in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong had never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. They hosted the first AFC Asian Cup in 1956 and won third place, also reaching the semifinals in 1964. Hong Kong did not qualify for another AFC tournament until 2023. They have also qualified for the EAFF E-1 Football Championship five times, in 2003, 2010, 2019, 2022 and 2025.
Hong Kong would also host the Challenge Division tournament of the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup in 2026.
Contents
History
Establishment and pre-WWII era
Before Hong Kong became a member of FIFA in 1954, Hong Kong began playing in the Hong Kong–Macau Interport tournament in 1937, which was one of the oldest competitions co-held by Hong Kong as well as continuously played. There were other interport tournaments in the past, such as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Interport which was first held in 1908. At that time the team was composed of ethnic Chinese as well as western expatriates, as in the 1935 and 1937 edition of Shanghai-Hong Kong Interport. There was another Interport tournament against Saigon. The aforementioned Macau, Shanghai and Saigon were not a member of FIFA nor a sovereign nation at that time, with Hong Kong and Macau only having joined FIFA in 1954 and 1978 respectively.
The China national team that participated in 1936 and 1948 Summer Olympics, were mainly composed of ethnic Chinese players from Hong Kong, most famously Lee Wai Tong. After WWII, a number of Shanghai-based players began representing Hong Kong, such as Chang King Hai and Hsu King Shing.
FIFA member (1954–present)
The Hong Kong FA became a member of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation in 1954. Since then Hong Kong played their first FIFA-recognised international match against other countries. The HKFA also sent a scratch team for 1957 Merdeka Tournament, which was composed of players from Eastern due to their proximity, plus few players from other clubs. The club was having a pre-season tour in South Asia, thus the HKFA invited the club to represent Hong Kong. However, some of the players were in fact ineligible to play for Hong Kong, as they were ROC (Taiwan) international players.
Hong Kong qualified for three of the first four editions of the Asian Cup, including a third-place finish in the 1956 edition as host. At that time, most Hong Kong players represented Republic of China; they finished third in the Asian Cup in the 1960 edition, leaving more inferior players to the proper Hong Kong team.
The 1998 World Cup Asian qualifiers was considered one of Hong Kong's darkest moments as it was hit by a match-fixing scandal that involved former Sing Tao striker Chan Tsz-Kong who was found guilty and jailed for a year after he bribed players to throw and lose a match against Thailand. Others who were involved include goalkeeper Kevin Lok Kar-Win, defenders Chan Chi-Keung and Lau Chi Yuen and striker Wai Kwan-Lung.
In 2015, a short football fever appeared during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification matches in Hong Kong under the guidance of Kim Pan Gon, as Hong Kong had been drawn into the same group with their fierce rival, China. Due to the tensions built up from the Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict, many local citizens became interested in this year's campaign; all four home matches were recorded as a sellout. Hong Kong ended the campaign with 4 victories against Bhutan and Maldives, 2 scoreless draws against China, and 2 losses against Qatar.
In late 2018, after the sudden departure of Kim Pan-gon, English coach Gary White was hired as the new head coach in which under his guidance, he helped Hong Kong secure qualification for their third appearance at the EAFF E-1 Football Championship finals after a narrow win against Chinese Taipei, a draw against North Korea and a heavy win against Mongolia. Shortly afterwards, White departed from the role.
Team image
Kits
The national team's home kit is typically a red shirt, red shorts, and red or white socks, while the away kit features white shirts, white shorts, and red or white socks.
Crest
The crest of the Hong Kong national football team features a Chinese dragon. This logo has consistently been used as the team's emblem. The HKFA emblem was not used on jerseys until 31 May 2011, HKFA debuted current emblem for the national team.
Home stadiums
The team's primary stadium is Kai Tak Stadium. For selected friendly matches and minor qualification matches, the Hong Kong team plays most often at the Hong Kong Stadium and Mong Kok Stadium.
The Jockey Club HKFA Football Training Centre is currently the main training ground for the Hong Kong national and youth teams.
Rivalries
Hong Kong maintains a specific rivalry with China. The rivalry began in 1978 and on 19 May 1985, Hong Kong produced a shock 2–1 upset in Beijing in the 1986 World Cup qualifying game, leading to unrest by Chinese supporters.
Since then, China was unbeaten against to Hong Kong but the rivalry continues and even got heated up since the conflict between Hong Kong and China in the 2010s.
On 1 January 2024, Hong Kong defeated China 2–1 in a closed door FIFA international friendly, marking their first victory in 29 years.
The Hong Kong–Macau rivalry has been contested by Hong Kong Football Association and Macau Football Association since 1937.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win
Draw
Loss
Coaching staff
Coaching history
Last updated: Cambodia 2–0 Hong Kong, 9 June 2026. Statistics include international "A" matches only.
Players
Current squad
The following 48 players have been named in the preliminery squad for the international matches in September and October 2026.
Caps and goals as of 9 June 2026 after the match against Cambodia.
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up for the team within the previous 12 months.
History of naturalised players
During the 1950s, Arthur Santos who is of British-Portuguese nationality (whose son Leslie was a former Hong Kong international footballer) became the first naturalised player to represent the Hong Kong national football team who was then followed by another fellow Portuguese-born player named JH Toleido.
In the 1960s, there were a couple more foreign players who had represented the Hong Kong national football team whilst some were working within the national service at the time. These include British players from T. Watson, Evans, Ken Wallis who went on to represent Hong Kong during the lawn bowls event during the 1990 and 1994 Commonwealth Games as well as Australian-born Pete McClaren and Scottish-born Charlie Wright.
In the late 1970s, Scottish-born players Derek Currie, Dave Anderson and Hugh McCrory all became eligible to represent the Hong Kong national football team in which Currie and Anderson took part during the 1979 Asian Cup qualifiers whilst McCrory took part during the 1982 World Cup qualifiers.
There were at least a couple more naturalised players who went on to represent Hong Kong throughout the 90's which include Bosnian-born Anto Grabo along with fellow English-born players Mark Grainger, John Moore and most notably Dale Tempest. Sung Lin Yung became the first mainland born player to represent Hong Kong during the 1998 World Cup Asian qualifiers having resided for more than two years under FIFA eligibility rules unlike foreign born players that would usually require at least seven years.
In the 2000s, a couple of African and Brazilian-born players were introduced went through the naturalisation process having met the residential criteria. Nigerian-born Lawrence Akandu obtained his Hong Kong citizenship in which he played for the national team during the 2003 East Asia Cup finals where he scored a goal in a loss against South Korea. He was soon followed by Cameroon-born Guy Gerard Ambassa who obtained his permanent residential status in 2005 along with another fellow Nigerian-born player named Colly Ezeh and Brazilian-born Cristiano Cordeiro in which both of whom earned international caps during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Cordeiro was also the first non-Chinese captain in the history of the Hong Kong team during the 2008 East Asia Cup preliminary stages. Despite having played for the national team during the 2009 edition of the Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup, Cameroonian-born Julius Akosah attempted to apply for a HKSAR passport, however his application was unsuccessful.
Records
As of 9 June 2026
Players in bold are still active with Hong Kong.
Captains
This list only records the players who were named as Hong Kong captain in official international competitions. First-choice captains always go first.
Competitive record
See comprehensive article: Hong Kong national football team all-time record
Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
Honours
Continental
AFC Asian Cup
Third place (1): 1956
Friendly
Long Teng Cup:
Champions (2): 2010, 2011
Tri-Nations Series
Champions (1): 2025
King's Cup
Third place (1): 2025
Awards
EAFF Championship Fair Play Award (1): 2010
Summary
Only official honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation).