2020–21 Hong Kong Premier League
The 2020–21 Hong Kong Premier League (also known as the BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the seventh season of the Hong Kong Premier League, the top division of Hong Kong football.
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 November 2020 – 30 May 2021 |
| Matches played | 8 |
| Goals scored | 31 (3.88 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Eastern 5–0 Resources Capital (21 November 2020) |
| Biggest away win | Pegasus 0–4 Southern (21 November 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Southern 3–3 Rangers (28 November 2020) |
| Total attendance | 7,847 |
| Average attendance | 981 |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
Effects of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Football Association postponed the opening of the 2020–21 season.[1] Later, it was announced that the season would begin on 21 November 2020.[2][3]
Teams
A total of 8 teams contest the league, including seven sides from the 2019–20 Hong Kong Premier League and one promoted from the 2019–20 Hong Kong First Division. Tai Po and Yuen Long decided to self-relegate to the Hong Kong First Division due to lack of funds. Meanwhile, R&F decided to withdraw from the league system.
| Club | Founded | Position Last Season |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchee | 1931 | 1st |
| Eastern | 1932 | 2nd |
| Lee Man | 2017 | 4th |
| Southern | 2002 | 5th |
| Happy Valley | 1950 | 6th |
| Pegasus | 2008 | Withdrew |
| Rangers | 1958 | Withdrew |
| Resources Capital | 1982 | 1st in First Division (before cancellation) |
- Pink denotes a newly promoted club entering the league this year.
Stadia and locations
Primary venues used in the Hong Kong Premier League:
| Kitchee Eastern |
Happy Valley | Lee Man | Resources Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mong Kok Stadium | Sham Shui Po Sports Ground | Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground | Tsing Yi Sports Ground |
| Capacity: 6,664 | Capacity: 2,194 | Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 1,500 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Rangers | Pegasus | Southern | |
| Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground | Yuen Long Stadium | Aberdeen Sports Ground | |
| Capacity: 2,200 | Capacity: 4,932 | Capacity: 4,000 | |
 |
 |
 |
Personnel and kits
| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Main sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Lam Kin Ming | Lee Chi Kin | Leung Chun Pong | Adidas | Upbest Group |
| Happy Valley | Chen Zhishi | Pau Ka Yiu |  Luciano |
Adidas | Michi |
| Kitchee | Ken Ng | Chu Chi Kwong | Huang Yang | Nike | EDPS Systems Ltd. |
| Pegasus | Steven Lo | Kwok Kar Lok | Leung Hing Kit | Adidas | RedMR |
| Lee Man | Norman Lee | Chan Hiu Ming | Fernando Recio | Adidas | Lee & Man Chemical |
| Rangers | Peter Mok | Chiu Chung Man Wong Chin Hung |
Lam Ka Wai | Kelme | Hong Kong Amateur Football Association |
| Southern | Matthew Wong |  Zesh Rehman |
 Shu Sasaki[4] |
Macron | Isuzu Motors |
| Resources Capital | Hanson Wong |  Joan Esteva |
Lam Chun Kit Law Ho Yin Liu Yik Shing Carles Tena [5] |
Future Hong Kong Football Development Charity Limited |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasus | Man Pei Tak | Change of Role | 20 October 2020 | Pre-season | Kwok Kar Lok | 20 October 2020 |
Foreign players
The number of foreign players is restricted to six per team, with no more than five on the pitch during matches, the fifth player must be a marquee player.
According to the decision made by Hong Kong Football Association Board of Directors on 15 July 2020, the marquee player must fulfil one of the following criteria:
i) played for a club which is in a world’s top professional league of one of the top 50 associations in the FIFA ranking published by FIFA on 11th June 2020 for at least 1 season or ii) fielded by his association in an international match, which his association is one of the top 50 associations in the FIFA ranking published by FIFA on 11th June 2020.
| Marquee Player |
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Former/Unregistered Players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Lucas Silva |
Everton |
Eduardo Praes |
João Emir |
Fernando |
Dudu |
 Chen Hao-wei |
| Happy Valley |  Razaq Adegbite |
Luciano |
Mikael |
 Charlie Scott |
Robert Odu |
||
| Kitchee | Manuel Gavilán |
Raúl Baena |
 Park Jun-heong |
 Dejan Damjanović |
Cleiton |
Wellingsson |
Tomas Paulo César |
| Lee Man | Gil |
 Jonathan Acosta |
 Michaël N'dri |
 Serhiy Shapoval |
José Ángel |
Kim Seung-yong |
|
| Southern | Stefan Pereira |
Zesh Rehman |
 Pedro Mendes |
Shu Sasaki |
Kota Kawase |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Matthew Cahill |
|
| Pegasus | Bernardo |
Nilson |
Marquinhos |
Kessi |
Júnior Goiano |
||
| Rangers | Oleksii Shliakotin |
Juninho |
Fernando Lopes |
Douglão |
Augusto Neto |
||
| Resources Capital | Albert Canal |
Felipe Sá |
Carles Tena |
Jordon Brown |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 6 | Qualified to Championship group |
| 2 | Southern | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 4 | |
| 3 | Pegasus | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Happy Valley | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 5 | Rangers | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | Qualified to Relegation group |
| 6 | Kitchee | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 7 | Lee Man | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Resources Capital | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Fair-play points; 8) Drawing lots (Play-off if the winner has to be decided).
Notes:
- Teams are split into two groups (Championship Group and Relegation Group) after each have played 14 matches.
Head to head
Positions by round
To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 7, but then played between rounds 8 and 9, it will be added to the standings for round 8.
| Leader - 2022 AFC Champions League | |
| Relegation to 2021–22 Hong Kong First Division |
Fixtures and results
Round 1
| 21 November 2020 | Eastern | 5–0 | Resources Capital | Mong Kok, Kowloon |
| 15:00 (UTC+8) | Sandro  29' (pen.), 70' Lucas 39', 49' (pen.) Everton 61' |
Report | Stadium: Mong Kok Stadium Attendance: 915 Referee: Liu Kwok Man |
| 21 November 2020 | Pegasus | 0–4 | Southern | Yuen Long, New Territories |
| 17:30 (UTC+8) | Report | Pereira 55', 57', 71' Ha 63' |
Stadium: Yuen Long Stadium Attendance: 1,368 Referee: Ng Chiu Kok |
| 22 November 2020 | Rangers | 2–2 | Happy Valley | Diamond Hill, Kowloon |
| 15:00 (UTC+8) | Juninho 31' Yiu Ho Ming 75' |
Report | Yuen Sai Kit 22' Odu 60' |
Stadium: Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground Attendance: 489 Referee: Ho Wai Sing |
| 22 November 2020 | Kitchee | 2–2 | Lee Man | Mong Kok, Kowloon |
| 17:30 (UTC+8) | Matt Orr 26' Li Ngai Hoi 45+3' |
Report | Shapoval 31' Acosta 50' |
Stadium: Mong Kok Stadium Attendance: 1,775 Referee: Yu Kin Fung |
Round 2
| 28 November 2020 | Southern | 3–3 | Rangers | Aberdeen, Hong Kong |
| 15:00 (UTC+8) | Pereira 24' James Ha 71', 77' |
Report | Lam Hok Hei 73' Lo Kwan Yee 85'Fernando 90' |
Stadium: Aberdeen Sports Ground Attendance: 418 Referee: Woo Chun Sing |
| 28 November 2020 | Resources Capital | 0–1 | Pegasus | Tsing Yi, New Territories |
| 17:30 (UTC+8) | Report | Kessi 30' |
Stadium: Tsing Yi Sports Ground Attendance: 538 Referee: Law Pik Chi |
| 29 November 2020 | Kitchee | 1–1 | Happy Valley | Mong Kok, Kowloon |
| 15:00 (UTC+8) | Li Ngai Hoi 74' |
Report | Odu 18' |
Stadium: Mong Kok Stadium Attendance: 1,407 Referee: Lau Fong Hei |
| 29 November 2020 | Lee Man | 2–3 | Eastern | Tseung Kwan O, New Territories |
| 17:30 (UTC+8) | Gil 4' N'dri 31' (pen.) |
Report | Sandro 13' Lucas 26'Eduardo 70' |
Stadium: Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground Attendance: 937 Referee: Tam Ping Wun |
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Pereira |
Southern | 4 |
| 2 | James Ha | Southern | 3 |
| Sandro | Eastern | ||
| Lucas Silva |
Eastern | ||
| 5 | Li Ngai Hoi | Kitchee | 2 |
| Robert Odu |
Happy Valley |
- As of matches played 29 November 2020[6]
Hat-tricks
- Note: The results column shows the scorer's team score first. Teams in bold are home teams.
| # | Player | Nationality | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Pereira | Brazil | Southern | Pegasus | 4–0 | 21 November 2020 | [7] |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Match(es) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yapp Hung Fai | Eastern | 1 |
| Tse Tak Him | Southern | ||
| Leung Hing Kit | Pegasus |
Attendances
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kitchee | 3,182 | 1,775 | 1,407 | 1,591 | −17.3% |
| 2 | Pegasus | 1,368 | 1,368 | 1,368 | 1,368 | +148.3% |
| 3 | Eastern | 915 | 915 | 915 | 915 | +13.9% |
| 4 | Lee Man | 937 | 937 | 937 | 937 | +6.8% |
| 5 | Resources Capital | 538 | 538 | 538 | 538 | n/a1 |
| 6 | Rangers | 489 | 489 | 489 | 489 | +30.4% |
| 7 | Southern | 418 | 418 | 418 | 418 | −51.5% |
| 8 | Happy Valley | NA | ||||
| League total | 7,847 | 1,775 | 418 | 981 | +23.7% |
Source: HKFA
Notes:
1: Team did not play in the Premier League last season
References
- "Announcement on 2019–20 and 2020–21 BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League". HKFA. 16 April 2020.
- 菁英盃周六開鑼 晉峰先鬥冠忠南區 on.cc 21 October 2020
- Fixture Release of 2020-21 BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League and Home Stadium for participating team HKFA 3 November 2020
- "夏志明、佐佐木周分別成為球會及球隊隊長 (James Ha and Shu Sasaki became club captain and team captain, respectively)". KC.Southern District Football Club Facebook page. 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
- "港超聯 晉峰擇吉拜神 鄭璟昊驚喜現身 (Hong Kong Premier League - Resources Capital held deity worshiping ceremony, Cheng King Ho appeared)". on.cc. 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
- "Hong Kong Football Association – Top Scorers". Hong Kong Football Association. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- "Pegasus 0 Southern 4". Hong Kong Football Association. 21 November 2020.