North District, since joining the HKPL, have consistently punched above their weight. After chasing the traditional big names for a majority of last season, they finished a respectable 5th.
Instrumental to their continued success has been, Jahangir Khan, whose solid and consistent play has added stability to his team. Khan has been a trail blazer as the first South Asian player to represent the Hong Kong Men’s Representative football team and he has inspired a whole new generation to follow in his steps.
Khan spoke passionately about his commitment to working with youths in and around the All Blacks football team, a community in which he also grew up in.
A team which nurtures and guides students both on and off the pitch to realize their potential as athletes and more importantly, as balanced human beings, who can also contribute back to society.
Earlier this June at the Community Inclusion Football Festival, Khan stepped into his role of being a role model and mentor. Khan spoke openly on why it is important to give back to society and provide youngsters vital youth lessons.
The Importance of Mentorship
“I am having an off season now (at time of interview), I could be resting but because of what Medard Koya and the All Blacks did for me, I think it’s always great that I can take some time out and come down to meet the youths.
Khan stressed the All Blacks was not just about football training but also giving a pathway for youths to see beyond their own ‘World’ and realize their own potential.
I think this is the only chance where I can now see the youths so I just wanted to have this opportunity to come and meet them and have a fun day.”
“I’ve been volunteering for quite a few years now and I’m very happy when I see the kids. The youths are growing. I think, it’s not only just coming down to play football, then go home, but you can also learn other things about life, which can help in the future. It is something good that I can see the youths growing up together and then learning something that they can give back to the community!”
Khan said North District will be aiming high this season after their impressive run last time.
‘Yeah, I think for North District, everybody had high expectations of us when we started last season. I think everything was going great, but the finishing was not what we expected; not what everybody expected!
We were quite disappointed with ourselves because we had a very good chance to, you know, win a trophy. But unfortunately, it’s football so you never know! So hopefully, if we (North District) are sticking together, we can have the same aim, same desire to win. Hopefully, we can have a great season this coming one!”
A Sense of Belonging
Jason Young, the master of ceremonies, spoke of the importance of giving guidance and direction to Hong Kong’s youths. He stressed the importance of character development over skill development in football as being a balanced person was the most important goal.
“Well, I think this community-you know, the ethnic minority and asylum seekers-they are some of the most disenfranchised, marginalized, forgotten communities in Hong Kong and the most vulnerable as well. Anything we can do to give back, to serve, to support them and to let them know that they’re included, they’re part of Hong Kong and that they matter. They have value in this city, and that they’re part of this city.
They’re part of the Hong Kong community. That’s something that’s very important to us: to make sure that everyone feels they belong!”
Football is Very Expensive in Hong Kong
Thomas Schimid was a volunteer at the football festival and stressed the importance of the event and the All Blacks to help create a much needed sense of belonging and identity for youths to whom may feel not ‘Seen’ and on the margins of society.
“So how I met Medard Koya was through my son because he plays football for another club, and then they played against the All Blacks and so we started to talk. Medard told me about the project and that was like last year. I really liked the project and I wanted to help! Then I just had a lot of other stuff going on, so I didn’t really have time. But now, like a month ago, I really started to reconnect to him and talk to him and explore ways how I might be able to help.
What we are trying to do is to basically build a new strategy for the whole club to make this more sustainable. Like now it’s a little bit dependent on a few donors, and then they leave and there’s a lot of financial issues. So what we try is to build a more sustainable financial situation for the club with different partners, different income streams, so that everything does not depend so much on one single person. That’s where I try to help!”
Schimid said teams like the All Blacks were important as football was becoming increasingly, more geared towards the ‘Pay to Play’ model to which some simply cannot afford the fees. There have been too many stories of talented potential stars simply being priced out of the game and unable to find a team as they simply could not cover the costs involved.
“I think, especially in Hong Kong, football is a very expensive sport, and I know from my side, it’s not cheap. You have to pay a lot of fees for coaching and those kinds of things! Football is for kids and creating this amazing feeling of community, and I think the idea of this club is really to make this available to everyone. I mean, independently of your background or your ability to pay.
So yes, this certainly helps many kids who could not have this and especially for kids from their backgrounds, and it might be even more important to have some good feeling of a sense of community. There are a lot of success stories in the club, like players who even became professional football players or coaches. A lot of them really profited from this community!”
One goal; greater inclusivity for all to enjoy the beautiful game and as shown, there are many from all areas of society, willing and happy to give up their time and talents for the greater good.
More: https://www.sportsforlifehk.com/en/
Interviews and Event from June 2026
