South China fans packed the ground for a lower division cup final, reminding the local game of what it was missing. After the game, club chairman Andy Lo claimed he was “open-minded” about a Premier League return.
For minutes after the match had ended, fans chanted the name of “South China.” They applauded the club’s players – the ones who performed valiantly in the biggest game of the lives before ultimately falling in a penalty shootout.
Seven years after the club had stunned Hong Kong football by announcing their decision to self-relegate – their first relegation since the founding of the club in 1910 – the Caroliners were back in a cup final.
They fell behind early to Central & Western – the reigning holders of the FA Cup Junior Division and the club who had finished a spot above South China this season’s First Division. A counterattack started by former Premier League players Lee Hong-lim, Chris Annan and Lau Ho-lam, and finished by former Rangers striker, David Bala, in the 18th minute reminded fans of the gulf in class between the two sides.
Bala struck again 10 minutes later on a free kick that was cheaply given away by Hong Kong U20 player, Andy Wong, which gave Central & Western a two-goal advantage after 28 minutes.
But having cheered the club on from the warm-up onwards, the crowd finally got what it wanted after the halftime interval.
Au Man-lok, who has been with the team for five of the club’s seven seasons in the First Division, was left unmarked at the back post. He dutifully headed home a corner just three minutes after halftime to pull a goal back for the Caroliners.
That’s when the tide began to turn.
Central & Western were the better side in the first half, as should be expected from a side with nearly all ex-professionals. But from the moment the scoreline became 2-1, they looked rattled. Suddenly, it was South China who were on the front foot, carrying play and first to every second ball.
They looked to have had a penalty in the 77th minute when Hui Wang-fung, another ex-professional whom Central & Western were able to roll off their bench, looked to have clipped the legs of a South China player. The referee was unconvinced, and it looked as though Central & Western had gained a 12th man to neutralize the boisterous 12th man of South China.
The Caroliners kept kicking at the door, nevertheless. Finally, in the 91st minute they found a way through one of their few players with Premier League experience.
Captain Kohei Ito played a through ball onto the foot of former Resources Capital player Leung Chong-yip. The winger then slid the ball across to Kenta Hara, South China’s top scorer this season with 15 goals and 10 assists, who made no mistake from a yard out.
Suddenly, the roof had been taken off the 1,000-capacity Po Kong Village Road Park. Hundreds of fans – a large number of whom were dressed in the iconic red and white kit of the 41-time league champions – began rapturously chanting “South China” in unison as if they were resurrecting a dead club back to life.
The game ended at a 2-2 stalemate after full time, necessitating penalties to decide the winner
The first shooter from both sides saw their efforts saved.
The next three shooters from both sides then scored, levelling the shootout at 3-3.
But Ito, South China’s fifth shooter, failed to hit his penalty with much conviction, and it was easily saved by Central & Western’s Li Hon-ho – he, too, a veteran of nearly 20 years in the top flight.
Bala, the First Division’s Golden Boot winner this season, smashed the next penalty into the bottom right corner, giving Central & Western a second successive cup win.

South China won two penalty shootouts during their cup run, but fell in final shootout (Credit: 還看港甲)
It didn’t matter to anyone before the game that South China were underdogs. It didn’t matter afterwards that they had lost.
This was always going to be the Caroliners’ big day out and their fans were going to enjoy it.
That is not to say that Central & Western did not have support, but the vast majority of the 1,000 spectators on Sunday were not there to see them.
Central & Western are a club. South China are a brand.
Central & Western are a relatively well-funded district side playing in an amateur league. South China are an institution that once represented greatness in the city’s footballing landscape.
Central & Western have a squad full of ex-professionals. South China were backed by footballing royalty.
Case in point: Amongst those who came to watch the game yesterday were former South China legends Yau Kin-wai, Chan Chi-hong and Chan Ping-on. Other players who had played for the club at one point, including Li Ngai-hoi, Chiu Chung-man and So Yiu-man, were also spotted in the stands.
Central & Western, who had often bullied their opponents this season with their who’s who of former professionals, were reduced to second billing even in victory.

Former South China player Yau Kin-wai (left), chairman Andy Lo (centre), and director of football Stephen Tsui (right). (Credit: 還看港甲)
After the game was over, it only natural to ask: Just why did fans pack the stand at Po Kong Village? Why did over 5,000 more stream the match online through Channel C, SNG130 and WA HERO WORKSHOP’s respective Youtube channels?
The truth about Sunday’s spectacle was that most of the South China partisans probably couldn’t name two players on the squad. No, they weren’t there to cheer for the players so much as they were there to cheer for the badge.
Fans turned out in droves for the final out of nostalgia for what South China once meant to their lives.
In his post-match comments to reporters, South China chairman Andy Lo seemed to concur with this sentiment.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve watched live football. Whenever I watch (local football) on TV, there’s no atmosphere” he said. “That was totally different today. Why? Because South China fans – and fans, at large – never forgot about us. Thank you to the fans for remembering us.”
While fans of the century-old club may not necessarily turn out in such large numbers for First Division matches, they proved on Sunday that they still exist, and that they are loud and proud. This inevitably leads to the recurring question of whether club management would consider a return to the Premier League?
“I don’t think that promotion is the issue, the question is whether it’s worth it?” Lo said. “If South China rejoined the Premier League, would everyone, including the HKFA, step up their (efforts to improve the league)?
“South China not only have a football side, we also have a basketball team. We don’t receive any funding from the government. Apart from the funding that we received from the Jockey Club for the reconstruction of South China Stadium, we are entirely self-funded. We need to make more money in order to spend more.
“We’re open-minded about going back up to the Premier League, but whether we promote or not depends on the market.”
Although he was non-committal in his approach, it appears that his thinking has evolved since his last comments on the matter. In 2021, he had stated that it was “not the right time” for the club to promote.
Lo was insistent, however, that the economy needed to improve in order to make the prospect of a return more appealing. He noted that there was a time when matches between South China and HKFC would draw 7,000-8,000 people, but nowadays, most matches draw in the low hundreds.
“If attendances are stuck in the hundreds, then I can’t justify allocating more funds towards football,” the chairman continued. “It’s unavoidable that you have to talk about money, no matter what activity you wish to undertake. Doesn’t matter if it’s in China, abroad or in Hong Kong – if you’re willing to spend more, it’s easier for you to do something well.
“The problem is that the South China Athletic Association runs programmes for 30 different sports. I don’t believe there’s another sports club in the world that is willing to sponsor as many different sports. We offer summer camps that help get kids off their phones and help them to discover a sport that they may interested in. We offer a lot of recreation classes for middle-aged adults and seniors.
“Whatever sport we sponsor, we want to do it well.”
Lo did not deny that South China have been approached by big sponsors in the past, but the club had certain restrictions about what they could or could not accept.
In 2016, a year before the club’s self-relegation, a real estate company wanted to become the title sponsor of the club. However, the offer was rejected as any name change would be a non-starter for the club.
With great power comes great responsibility for a club with as big of a reputation to uphold for South China. While most fans would agree that the Premier League is better with South China in it, one must ask whether promotion would be worthwhile it if the club were not title contenders?
Would fans back the club if they were a mid-table or relegation team?
Even under the assumption that South China could build a team with a budget of $20 million, building a contender takes time. Lee Man needed seven years before they were able to win the league this season, and R&F spent nearly $50 million a year in each of their final two seasons without winning silverware.
The club would also need to start the recruitment of championship-calibre players well before the end of May when most players’ contracts end.
Then, there is the jeopardy that the club could wait too long to promote and fade further and further from the public consciousness as a consequence. The fans who turned up to support the club on Sunday were largely long-time fans.
It is hard to imagine that the Caroliners have made many new fans since they began life in the lower divisions. As long as the club remain in the First Division, they risk losing out on an entire generation of fans who have never seen them compete in the top flight.
Fans of local football who grew up in the 80s can recall a time when Seiko and Bulova ruled the league. Fans who grew up in the 90s can say the same of Instant-Dict, and fans who grew up in the early-2000s ‘Ice Age’ can do likewise with Sun Hei and Happy Valley.
But none of the five aforementioned clubs are in the top flight today, and of the five, only Sun Hei still continue to exist. The others exist only in history books and in vintage video clips to remind fans of what once was.
If South China are determined to continue as an amateur team, then they will self-relegate themselves from an institution to a relic of the past.
And if that’s the case, perhaps the next time that hundreds of South China fans gather together at the stadium will be at an old-timers’ game.
