Chinese football is messy, but the Hong Kong team wants to make a "reverse operation", as if it is "jumping into a fire pit". According to one of the heads of the Hong Kong Football Federation in China, in an interview, he said that exploring a development path for Hong Kong teams to participate in mainland football leagues. It is worth mentioning that he also cited the example of Welsh Football Association team Swansea playing in the Premier League. Demonstrate that the Hong Kong team plays in the Chinese League One, the Chinese Super League and other levels of the continental league. What I never expected was that some fans would re-mention the "goalkeeper Yip Honghui incident" and whether the ban on Hong Kong goalkeepers would take this opportunity to be resolved.
Reverse operation jump pit? The "Hong Kong FA" wants to emulate the Premier League in the Premier League
1, The Hong Kong FA revealed its plans to integrate into the continental league
The head of the Hong Kong Football Federation believes that the integration of Hong Kong football into the mainland league is the direction of their future development. Having a Chinese football market can solve some of the problems of the Hong Kong team, such as club income, player salaries and even football levels. He also mentioned that the new professional football stadium in Hong Kong with a capacity of 50,000 fans will bring opportunities for local development, while taking advantage of the "Greater Bay Area" to attract more Chinese fans to watch the games in Hong Kong.
2, Hong Kong team plays Chinese Super League, following the example of Welsh team playing in the Premier League
Hong Kong team plays in the Chinese Super League, this "cross-football association" competition model is not the first, it has appeared as far away as the United Kingdom. I believe that many fans who watch the Premier League will know that the Welsh FA team can participate in the Premier League held by the English FA. For example, in the 2010/2011 season, Swansea entered the Premier League as third runners-up in the Championship, thus starting a seven-year journey to the top flight. Cardiff City and Rexham are both Welsh clubs that play in the FA. It turned out that Wales only officially established a football league in 1992, and some of the clubs that were established earlier went to participate in the English FA's league.
3. Feasibility? The Macau team competed in the Continental League in 2018
In fact, the plan of the Hong Kong FA has long been opened by the Macao team. In 2018, a club from the Macau region, the Macau Development Team, emerged in the Chinese Champions League. The team is mostly composed of players from Guangdong, Zhuhai and Macau SAR, with only one naturalized player named "Liannou", whose wife is a native of Macau and loves Chinese culture. In the following seasons, Macao had teams participating in the Central Championship, which also provided a "model" for the Hong Kong Super League team to implement the plan.
A repeat of the Ye Honghui incident? Whether the "ban on Hong Kong goalkeepers" will be cancelled
1, what is the "Ye Honghui incident"
A goalkeeper from Hong Kong, China, who played for the famous local South China football club. In the summer 2013 transfer window, Ye Honghui reached an agreement with Guizhou Renhe to represent the team in the Chinese Super League in the new season. Unexpectedly, Chinese football suddenly stopped Ye Honghui's registration, mainly because of the 1999 ban on foreign aid participating in the Chinese football league as a goalkeeper. It is reported that Yip Honghui is a player of the Hong Kong FA, and the Chinese Super League belongs to the Chinese Football Association. However, "Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots" can participate in the Chinese Super League through special cases, which also makes Ye Honghui feel very unfair. Ye Honghui has repeatedly complained that he is a Chinese, not a foreign aid, and there is a reason why "Chinese players cannot play in the Chinese league".
2, Chinese can't play in the Chinese Super League? Player identity issues, naturalized player issues
Ye Honghui only signed a contract with Guizhou and Guizhou after he terminated his contract with the South China team, so his dissatisfaction continued to ferment. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Russia, the Chinese men's football team and Hong Kong were drawn in both legs. As a Hong Kong goalkeeper, Ye Honghui has publicly stated that even if he can't win against the Chinese national football team, he will prevent them from qualifying. Therefore, the identity of Hong Kong players, even involving naturalized players, and how to solve the problem of "Chinese cannot play in the Chinese Super League" is the most important thing for Hong Kong teams to participate in the league under the Chinese Football Association.
3, Guangzhou team in the AFC Super League has been saber rattling with Hong Kong Super League, how to solve "harmony"?
From Ye Honghui also playing for the Chinese Super League team, to the conflict caused by the confrontation between the two places in the World Preliminary Round, the discordant voice continued. In the 2017 AFC Champions League, Guangzhou played away against Hong Kong Oriental. During the game, the home team fans openly held up the wrong flag, which caused strong dissatisfaction among the Guangzhou fans. The two sides fought each other, with serious consequences. In the end, Guangzhou was fined $22,500 by the AFC and missed two home stadiums. This happened in the following seasons. How to solve the problem of "harmony" between fans in the two places will also become a problem.
As the saying goes: "Near Zhu is red and close to ink is black". The main reason why Chinese football has degenerated into such a situation is that "there are laws that are not followed, and law enforcement is not strict", and it does not take the road of true specialization and professionalism. As a result, bizarre football incidents such as youth match-fixing, league collapse, national football losing to the Vietnamese team, and a large number of football players being taken away have frequently occurred in recent years. Now, the Hong Kong FA, which has a longer history of football and has developed a more professional career, wants to lead the team into the continental league. Fans hope to solve historical problems, leverage the sluggish football environment, form a "catfish effect", and let Chinese football get back on its feet.