While the football team has won many titles in the second-tier competition in recent years, they have rarely enjoyed success when playing against professional sides in the First Division. In 1980 however, the club managed to avoid relegation from the professional First Division for the first time in their history. One of the highlights of the season was a 1–1 draw with eventual champions Seiko SA. On 10 May 1980 at the HK Government Stadium CLUB defeated Kui Tan 1–0 with an 87th-minute penalty scored by John McGunnigle, meaning Kui Tan joined Yuen Long in the drop that year.
In the past few years, HKFC opted not to take promotion to the First Division. In 2006, finally, the club accepted the promotion after winning the Second Division. After showing initial promise, they lost 4 league matches in a row between March and April 2007 and were relegated to the Second Division. They did however become champions of the Second Division again in April 2010 and returned to the First Division. Therefore, HKFC is known as the yo-yo club in Hong Kong.
Uprise to the Hong Kong Premier League
2016–17 Season
In 2016, two years after the establishment of the fully professional Hong Kong Premier League, HKFC finally decided to seek promotion to the top flight after finishing as runners-up behind Tai Po in the 2015–16 season. Their stay in the top flight only lasted a single season. Their first HKPL season saw them only collect 2 wins and 6 points in 20 league games and saw themselves finishing bottom of the league with a staggering -64 goal difference. The club also recorded one of the biggest losses in their history with a 10-0 thumping to Kitchee,[3] becoming the highest scoring match of the season.
HKFC won the First Division for the first time in a century during the 2017–18 season, going unbeaten throughout the entire league campaign. The club declined promotion as they did not want to field a professional side.[4][5]
Prior to the start of the 2022–23 season, the club announced the crucial signings of striker Paul Ngue,[10] others such as Alexandre Dujardin, Siu Ka Ming, Ng Tsz Chung, Emmet Wan, and Jack Sealy were brought in to help restructure the senior squad and increase their chances of survival.[11][12] The club then bid farewell to goalkeeper To Chun Kiu, who left for fellow Premier League club Sham Shui Po and defender Brian Fok who retired.[13] A number of youth talents from the club's youth teams were promoted, notably Timothy Chow, Raphael Merkies[14] and goalkeeper Fung Long Hin.
The team would collect all 3 points in their season opener to Sham Shui Po in a 1–0 victory with a penalty scored by Paul Ngue to settle the score.[15] HKFC, however, fell short in their second game as they fell to a 5-0 thumping by Kitchee in the Senior Challenge Shield.[16] HKFC then saw the arrival of experienced attacking player Paulinho joining the team with him making his debut in a historical 4–2 comeback to Tai Po FC in a 2022–23 Hong Kong Sapling Cup game, scoring twice and assisting Henry Moore for the equalizing goal.[17][18]
On February 5, 2023, goalkeeper Freddie Toomer became the first goalkeeper in the Hong Kong Premier League history to score a goal as he netted an acrobatic bicycle kick in the 90+6 minute to help the club equalize and salvage a point in a 1–1 draw to Resources Capital.[19] The match between Kitchee and HKFC at HKFC Stadium became the first game in the club's history to become a sellout, however, HKFC came on the losing end in a 3-0 humbling.[20]
Following the club's 2–0 victory over Sham Shui Po on 19 February 2023, the club broke their records as they recorded a 21-point finish following the game, breaking the former record of 20 points in the top-tier league way back in 1963.[21] Following their 1–0 loss to Eastern and the confirmation of their final league position, it was announced that another record had been broken as they had made history by finishing in 6th place, 5 places above the original record of 11th place back in the 2016–17 Hong Kong Premier League season. The club then finished the season on a high with a 2–1 victory over Southern with goals from Thiago and Timothy Chow sealing the victory, the match was also the final professional game for club legend Freek Schipper and veteran striker Shunsuke Nakamura.
The team would fall miserably to Kitchee in a 8–0 thrashing on season opening,[33][34] goalkeeper Issey Maholo was also forced off the pitch due to injury and on came striker Paul Ngue having to step up to go in goal due to the team having no reserve goalkeeper.[35] The team picked up their first win of the league campaign in a 1–0 outing victory against Sham Shui Po away before going on to lose the Hong Kong FA Cup[36] tie to the latter. The team would go on a 5-game, no-win streak across all competitions before claiming a dominant 4–1 win over Resources Capital at home following goals from 4 different players. HKFC crashed out of the Sapling Cup with a humbling 12 points in 10 games.
Defender Siu Ka Ming would depart the club for Kowloon City on a free in early January[37] with Maddox Kong and Hirokane Harima both departing on a free transfer citing personal reasons. Goalkeeper Fung Long Hin returned to the squad following a major absence in the goalkeeping department. The club would continue on a poor run of form, picking up only 9 points in the league from January across 11 games, with the most attention being a 1–0 home humbling of North District with the sole goal scored by a 42-year-old Paulinho, the game was a heated tussle for both sides as winger Dominic Johns suffered a nasty injury following serious foul play by the North District defender which lead to an uproar in the HKFC side to avenge their teammate.[38][39] The club finished the 2023–24 season in 7th place following a boring 0–0 tie to Sham Shui Po at Aberdeen Sports Ground with goalkeeper Fung Long Hin coming on as a winger as the club only brought him as the sole substitute.[40][41][42]
Rumours of the club relegating ahead of the 2024–25 season surfaced online with the sources close the club claiming a verdict would be decided by the week after 29 May and was optimistic regarding the team's chances of remaining in the Hong Kong Premier League.[43] Defender Timothy Chow left the club for HKPL side Lee Man.[44][45][46][47]
On 31 July 2024, the club held a pre-season conference in which Chancy Cooke replaced Tony Hamilton-Bram as the new head coach. Whilst the club were also able to retain some of their experienced players from last season, they had acquired a number fresh players from Toby Down who was part of the Tai Po team that won their first Hong Kong Premier League title, former Hong Kong international Andrew Russell as well as the additions of young players which include the likes of Lai Hoi To, Wong Sum Chit, Ho Ka Chi and Lam Chi Fung.[48]
Following a 3-year postponement, it was announced the soccer sevens would make a return in 2023, with teams such as Brighton, Fulham, and Glasgow Rangers youth teams invite to the tournament.[49]Les Ferdinand was also invited as the main guest of the drawing of teams during the 2023 edition of the tournament. He was spotted overseeing youth teams of HKFC and even interacted with some of the youth players.
The stadium was situated adjacent to the racecourse. But in 1995, as part of a redevelopment of the racecourse, the club moved into a brand new, 64,000 square meter, purpose-built home, with the main building being outside the race track, and the main pitch, all-weather hockey pitch, bowling green, and sports bar being inside the racetrack.[50]
The stadium is currently used for the club's youth pathways teams, senior and youth rugby team and also serves as the home stadium of Lucky Mile FC. Aside from hosting regular league games, the stadium is also the host stadium of the annual HKFC Soccer Sevens which is a seven-a-side tournament with teams joining all over the world.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Remarks: LP These players are considered as local players in Hong Kong domestic football competitions. FP These players are registered as foreign players.
Lucky Mile is the B or second team of the HKFC Soccer Section and has used the club's membership since the late 1990s.[53] The club now competes in the Hong Kong Second Division and is led by coach Rich Le-Gallez alongside assistant managers Leung King Yu and Ko Chun.
