Sham Shui Po head coach Ko Chun-kay guarantees that his team will apply for promotion if they win the First Division League Cup. If they fail, he says that the club would need more sponsors to get on board in order to make their top flight dream a reality.
On Sunday, the first group stage matches of the First Division League Cup were played as local football resumed for the first time since early January. Despite his team’s 1-0 victory on the day over fellow district team Yuen Long, Sham Shui Po head coach Ko Chun-kay was bombarded with questions from reporters over his team’s potential promotion bid.
Kay responded emphatically that Sham Shui Po would promote under certain conditions: “Let me repeat this three times: We will go up if we win the cup! We will go up if we win the cup! We will go up if we win the cup! I hope that the players will show badly they want to play in the Premier League through their performances in the League Cup.”
The head coach confirmed that the club had received an invitation to promote from the HKFA in mid-May, but insisted that management have only held one internal meeting to discuss it. He revealed that the chairman of the club did not object to the idea, although the club would need to attract more support from commercial sponsors in the district.
“We still need to work hard to find a big sponsor,” Kay said. “The district council’s support only goes so far, but it’s not enough. We don’t want the team to be promoted and then operate as a semi-professional outfit. That’s why I can’t commit to going up if we don’t win the cup.”
He reiterated that the club had planned at the beginning of the season to promote if they could win the First Division title. As the league season could not be completed, that goal has now been shifted to the League Cup.
“If we don’t achieve a good result in the cup, then we will have to think hard about whether to go up. Sponsors also consider whether to back the team based on results, after all.”
Sham Shui Po operated on a budget of $700,000-800,000 this season, a figure that would need to be increased to $5 million if the team were to promote, according to Ko.
“To play in the Premier League, you need to apply for a license, you need to secure a venue and financially, we hope to have more commercial support,” he said. “We’ve received some positive reaction from people and businesses within our district but they need to make their support concrete.”
Lo (left) and Mak (right) were teammates at R&F before joining Sham Shui Po. (Credit: Sham Shui Po)
Striker Lo Kong-wai, who won the First Division’s Golden Boot last season with 11 goals, said that the circumstances had changed from when he last played in the top flight two years ago. Back then, he had suddenly found himself on the outside looking in after R&F folded and had vowed in a previous interview to use his performances in the First Division to return to the Premier League. Two years later, Lo, who will turn 30 in June, now sells real estate for a living and admitted that it would be difficult to imagine himself playing professionally again.
“My dreams were dashed a few years ago, but if the conditions are right, then we’ll see,” Lo said. “If I were still in my twenties, I’d think about it. But I’m almost 30 now, so I’d have to think twice as hard.”
Winger Mak Fu-shing, who was Lo’s teammate for a year at R&F before joining him at Sham Shui Po, was enthusiastic about the prospect of playing in the top flight once again. The 21-year-old, who works at his family’s restaurant during the day, hopes to revitalize his career after watching his contemporaries Max Poon, Marcus Chang, and Yip Cheuk-man throw away their chance of representing Hong Kong as a result of the infamous U23 drinking binge.
“Well, I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t work hard enough when I was at R&F. But that’s the way it goes sometimes; you don’t realize what you’ve lost until you’ve lost it,” said Mak, who made 12 appearances for the Guangzhou-based side over two seasons.
Lo, who Mak refers to as his “big brother”, concurred. “(Mak) understands that professional football is a cut-throat business and you need to perform before you can talk. But if you do perform, then naturally you’ll be rewarded. As long as he keeps popping goals in, he’ll have to chance to play the Premier League again. I’m living proof that it can happen.”
The words of both players were heartening to Ko as he needs his players to perform if they are to be promoted on merit.
“We’re determined. If the kids show that they can cope with the pressure, then I believe we can do it,” the coach said. “Like I said, if we can’t win the League Cup, then we’ll have to reconsider our situation, but we all want to do it and give a boost to the people of Sham Shui Po.”
