Hundreds of supporters of the Hong Kong men’s football team have queued up in the hope of snatching up what may be the last jersey of its kind before the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) adds “China” to its name.
Hong Kong played against Singapore at Mong Kok Stadium on Thursday in the first international friendly match after the city dropped most of its stringent Covid-19 restrictions, including the mask mandate. The matched ended in a 1 – 1 draw.
Fans began queuing up outside the stadium hours before the match was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.. The group at the front of the line told HKFP that they arrived at around 4 p.m. in the hope of buying a legacy jersey.
HKFA passed a resolution at an annual general meeting earlier this month to change the group’s name to “The Football Association of Hong Kong, China.” The change was made in order to comply with the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China’s (SF&OC) new requirements.
The city’s sports bodies were told by the SF&OC in January to include “China” in their official names by July 1 this year or risk losing their funding.
Chairperson of the HKFA Pui Kwan Kay said in the annual meeting that the association emblem, and the Hong Kong football team’s jersey, will be changed – he hoped – before the July deadline.
At the time he said: “If the change could be made in time, [team jerseys] will be out of print at the end of this month.”
New design
Last Friday, the HKFA revealed the football team’s latest kit design, and likely the last before the name change.
Some netizens were disappointed with the home jersey’s minimalist design: red with white strap on both sleeves.
However, it did not deter fans from flocking to Mong Kok Stadium on Thursday to snap up a shirt.
Many were wearing previous versions of the team jersey, with some wearing other red football shirts to match the team colour.
Mr. Wong, one of the hundreds of people queuing outside the stadium, told HKFP that he started queuing at 5 p.m.. Carrying a bag that read “Kick ass Hong Kong,” Wong bought a home jersey after queuing for an hour.
“I think this year’s shirt is just like what they said online: it’s a bit plain and the design is not as striking as previous years… but it’s really for supporting [Hong Kong team].”
Wong also said that HKFA’s decision to change its name was another reason prompting him to buy the jersey, because the shirt “will be the last batch” with HKFA’s current name.
Thomas and Tracy, a couple who also bought a home jersey as well as a pin with HKFA’s emblem, said they went to queue up despite not having tickets for the match.
The pair also received some fan-made postcards featuring player photos while queuing up.
Thomas said that they were not able to buy the Hong Kong team jersey in previous years, as there was only a small number of shirts available. When asked about this year’s design, the couple laughed: “It’s a bit ugly,” said Tracy.
“[It] is too simple, compared to previous designs, each one of them was prettier [than this year’s],” said Thomas.
If it were not for the upcoming name change, the couple said they might not have bothered to buy this year’s jersey: “Although [the jersey] is a bit ugly, I bought it for the name,” said Tracy.
With each person only allowed to buy two jerseys, at around 7 p.m., an hour after gates opened for fans to shop for souvenirs, staff members from the HKFA announced that all football shirts were sold out.
Many disappointed fans still waiting booed loudly, but some still stayed in the queue.
Among them were friends Anson, Billy and Berry, who started queuing at 5:45 p.m.. With the shirts sold out just as they neared the counter, they turned their attention to the team scarf.
When asked what thought about this year’s design, Anson also blurted out “ugly.”
“But us Hongkongers will still buy it while criticising it,” said Anson. “This is the last HKFA emblem.”
Anson and his friends were not the only ones left disappointed. Jason, who had waited for over an hour before he was told that the jerseys were sold out, and so bought a “Kick ass Hong Kong team” scarf instead.
Claiming that this year’s shirt had “no design,” Jason said the only reason he wanted to buy one was the impending name change.
Apart from snapping up souvenirs, Jason – who was also one of the 5,910 fans who bagged tickets for the sold-out game – said he was left with “mixed feelings.”
“I thought about how I felt when I attended previous games – the social atmosphere, political environment, and everything else has changed so much,” said Jason.
“But what remains unchanged is people’s passion for football.”
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