South China AA

South China AA
South China AA
Traditional Chinese	南華體育會
Simplified Chinese	南华体育会
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Nánhuá tǐyù huì
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping	Naam4 Waa4 tai2 juk6 wui6

South China
Full name	南華體育會; South China Athletic Association
Nickname(s)	少林寺 (Shaolin Temple); The Caroliners
Founded	1910; 114 years ago; (as South China Football Team)
Ground	Happy Valley Recreation Ground
President	Victor Hui
Head coach	Ku Kam Fai
League	Hong Kong First Division
2023–24	First Division, 3rd of 12
Home colours	Away colours

22°16′32″N 114°11′15″E / 22.275644°N 114.187539°E / 22.275644; 114.187539

South China Athletic Association (known simply as South China, SCAA, Chinese: 南華體育會) is a Hong Kong professional football club that competes in the Hong Kong First Division, the second-tier league in Hong Kong football league system. The club is historically one of the most successful football clubs in Hong Kong, having won a record 41 First Division titles, a record 31 Senior Shields, a record 10 FA Cups and 3 League Cups. The club has a very long history in playing in the top-tier league, but decided to self-relegate after the end of the 2016–17 season.

Nicknamed "Shaolin Temple" and "Caroliners", South China has produced many great Hong Kong footballers over the years. In November 2007, the club entered into a charity partnership with Hong Kong Red Cross. The partnership is a pioneer between a sports association and a humanitarian organisation in Hong Kong.

The club plays its home matches at Happy Valley Recreation Ground.

History

Early history

The Chinese Football Team was founded in 1904 by a group of Chinese students in Hong Kong,^[1]^[2] including Mok Hing (Chinese: 莫慶)^[3] and Tong Fuk Cheung (Chinese: 唐福祥, the captain of China national football team in the 1910s).^[4] In 1910, the team was renamed as South China Football Club.^[1]^[2]^[3]

In the 1917 Far Eastern Games and 1919 Far Eastern Games (also known as the Far East Olympics Tournament), the club represented the Republic of China and won the football championship.^[5] It is the only team in Hong Kong sports history to have accomplished this feat.^[5] China lost in the final to the Philippines in the first to be held, in 1913,^[6] but in the next nine it won every time, right through until the last FECG to be held in 1934. On that occasion China was a joint winner with Japan. Throughout these tournaments, the majority of the China team was composed of SCAA players.

In 1920, South China which began as a club called the South China Athletic Association founded by Mok Hing.^[5]

Around 1920–1922, the club formally adopted the present name of South China Athletic Association and diversified into other sports such as basketball.^[5]^[7]

1980s

Since its foundation, South China had a Chinese only policy whereby the club would only field players of Chinese ethnicity. In keeping with this policy, the club would only sign foreign players who had Chinese ancestry such as Edmund Wee, Chow Chee Keong and Chan Kwok Leung. Up until the 1980s, the policy did not have a negative effect on results.

However, when professional football took off in Hong Kong, the club could not cope with the influx of foreign players and performed poorly at the beginning of the 1981–82 season. Therefore, on 2 November 1981 the club voted to end its six decade old Chinese only policy. Although the club was able to avoid relegation that season, it was not incident-free. On 6 June 1982, after the club drew an all-important match with Caroline Hill, the fans rioted outside the stadium that spread onto Causeway Bay. The riot was the largest civil disorder in Hong Kong since the leftist riot in 1967.

2000s

As they failed to beat Citizen in the last game of the 2005–06 season, South China was to be relegated for the first time since 1983.^[8] However, on 14 June 2006, the Hong Kong Football Association approved a request from South China to remain in the Hong Kong First Division with the promise of strengthening their squad. Staying true to their word, South China heavily strengthened their squad and coaching staff. As a result, South China successfully regained the First Division League title in the 2006–07 season, and also winning the Hong Kong FA Cup and the Hong Kong Senior Shield, achieving the famous treble.

The team has gone from strength to strength, while the team has had continued success on the domestic front, winning three consecutive league titles in the process, it has also had success in other international club competitions. The team has reached the semi-finals of the 2009 AFC Cup. South China's success has seen the team climb in world club rankings to their new high of 145th, even surpassing other mainland Chinese clubs which are widely considered to be of a better standard than clubs in Hong Kong. In recent years the South China has taken part in several pre-season exhibition matches with European clubs, with the most notable being a 2–0 win against the English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

Much of the recent success has been attributed to the former chairman, Steven Lo, and with his shrewd business sense he rebuilt the team as a brand, and played a major role in reigniting interest in the Hong Kong Football League. South China has reinvented their image and have partnered with several organisations and brands. In 2007, South China has enter into a partnership with Hong Kong Red Cross. The partnership is a pioneer between a sports association and a humanitarian organisation in Hong Kong, and South China is the first football team to ever bear the Red Cross emblem on the official kit. The appointment of the fashion brand Giorgio Armani as the official tailor, has allowed South China to join some of the world's elite, with the brand being associated with Chelsea Football Club and the England national team. In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the establishment of South China Football Team, world-renowned designer Philippe Starck produced a special edition of the "Peninsula Chair", with the faces of the team and the chairman printed on.

Nicky Butt and Mateja Kežman played for South China during the 2010–11 season.

2010s

Ahead of the 2014–15 season, AET chairman Wallace Cheung became the conveynor of the club, promising to spend $18–20 million per season.^[9] The domestic season was not initially a successful one as the club finished fourth in the league and did not win any silverware. The saving grace was a Season Playoff victory which allowed the club to directly qualify for the 2016 AFC Cup group stage.

In 2016–17 South China reached their first cup final in six years, facing Kitchee in the 2016–17 Hong Kong FA Cup Final. However, they were defeated 2–1 and were unable to capture the trophy.

On 5 June 2017, South China made the shocking announcement that they would voluntarily self-relegate into the First Division.^[10] The club and Cheung had recently parted ways, leaving the club with no financial benefactor to support their large salary budget.

Current squad

First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	HKG	Chow Long Hei
2	DF	HKG	Law Man Chung
4	DF	HKG	Ng Cheuk Hin
5	DF	HKG	Law Wing Lun
6	MF	HKG	Au Man Lok
7	MF	HKG	Ho Min Tong
8	FW	HKG	Ye Jia
9	FW	HKG	Kwok Ting Him
10	MF	HKG	Yung Cheuk Leung
11	FW	HKG	Yau Ping Kai
12	GK	HKG	Lit Hoi Yat


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
14	MF	HKG	Ip Chung Long
15	DF	HKG	Lee Chun Lok
17	MF	HKG	So Yau Tin
18	DF	HKG	Ma Kin Chung
21	GK	HKG	Man Wai Sum
22	MF	JPN	Takuya Tasaka
25	MF	JPN	Kohei Ito
25	MF	HKG	Yung Cheuk Leung
27	MF	HKG	Mak Yin Kan
30	GK	HKG	Wong Ka Kin
—	FW	GNB	Walter Vaz

Retired numbers


No.	Player	Nationality	Position	Years	Ref
38	Mateja Kežman	Serbia	Forward	2011, 2012	^[11]^[12]

Honours

Historically the most popular club in the city, SCAA is also the most successful football club in Hong Kong, winning the Hong Kong First Division 41 times (all-time ranking 1st), the Senior Shield 31 times (all-time ranking 1st), the now-defunct Hong Kong Viceroy Cup 8 times, the Hong Kong FA Cup 10 times (all-time ranking 1st) and the Hong Kong League Cup 3 times. The team had captured all 4 trophies in seasons 1987–88 and 1990–91. In November 2001, the team was awarded the AFC Team of the Month by the Asian Football Confederation.

League

Hong Kong First Division
- Champions (41): 1923–24, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2012–13
- Runners-up (16): 1928–29, 1946–47, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1972–73, 1980–81, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2010–11
Hong Kong Second Division
- Champions (5): 1917–18, 1925–26, 1933–34, 1951–52, 1952–53

Cup competitions

Hong Kong Senior Shield
- Champions (31): 1928–29, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1940–41, 1948–49, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1964–65, 1971–72, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2013–14
- Runners-up (16): 1918–19, 1933–34, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1946–47, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1962–63, 1970–71, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1989–90, 1992–93, 2010–11, 2011–12
Hong Kong FA Cup
- Champions (10): 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2010–11
- Runners-up (5): 1975–76, 1985–86, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2016–17
Hong Kong League Cup
- Champions (3): 2001–02, 2007–08, 2010–11
- Runners-up (2): 2014–15, 2015–16
Hong Kong Viceroy Cup
- Champions (8): 1971–72, 1979–80, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98
- Runners-up (7): 1973–74, 1974–75, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1995–96
Hong Kong Junior Shield
- Champions (9): 1947–48, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1966–67
Hong Kong Community Cup
- Champions (2): 2014, 2015
Hong Kong Community Shield
- Runners-up (1): 2009
Hong Kong Sapling Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2015–16
Hong Kong FA Cup Junior Division
- Runners-up (1): 2023–24

Continental record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1986	Asian Club Championship	Group C	Liaoning FC	0–1	3rd
1986	Asian Club Championship	Group C	Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian	1–1	3rd
1987	Asian Club Championship	Group 6	Yomiuri FC	0–1	0–2	2nd
1988–89	Asian Club Championship	Group 6	April 25	0–3	4th
			Guangdong Wanbao	0–1
			Yamaha Motors	1–1
			Wa Seng	3–0
1991	Asian Club Championship	First round	Sporting de Macau	9–1	5–0	14–1
1991	Asian Club Championship	Second round	Yomiuri FC	1–0	1–3	2–4
1993–94	Asian Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Dalian Haichang	2–0	1–0	2–1
		Second round	East Bengal	1–0	4–1	5–1
		Quarter-final	bye
		Semi-final	Nissan	(w/o)
		Final	Al-Qadsiah	2–4	0–2	2–6
1997–98	Asian Club Championship	First round	Selangor FA	0–0	2–0	2–0
1997–98	Asian Club Championship	Second round	Dalian Wanda	0–4	2–1	2–5
2000–01	Asian Club Championship	Second round	Júbilo Iwata	1–3	1–3	2–6
2002–03	2002–03 AFC Champions League Qualification Round 1	Second round	Home United	2–1	1–1	3–2
2002–03	2002–03 AFC Champions League Qualification Round 1	Third round	Shimizu S-Pulse	0–5	1–3	1–8
2008	AFC Cup	Group D	Home United	2–3	4–1	3rd
			Victory SC	3–0	0–0
			Kedah FA	1–3	3–0
2009	AFC Cup	Group F	PSMS Medan	3–0	2–2	1st
			VB	2–1	1–2
			Johor FC	2–0	1–4
		Round of 16	Home United	4–0
		Quarter-final	Neftchi Farg'ona	1–0	5–4	5–5 (a)
		Semi-final	Al-Kuwait	0–1	2–1	1–3
2010	AFC Cup	Group G	Muangthong United	0–0	0–1	1st
			VB	3–1	1–0
			Persiwa Wamena	6–3	0–2
		Round of 16	Al-Riffa	1–3
2011	AFC Cup	Group H	Muangthong United	1–1	4–2	3rd
			Chonburi FC	0–3	3–0
			Kingfisher East Bengal	1–0	3–3
2014	AFC Cup	Group G	Vissai Ninh Bình	1–3	1–1	3rd
			Kelantan FA	4–0	2–0
			Yangon United	5–3	2–0
2015	AFC Cup	Group G	Global FC	3–0	1–6	1st
			Pahang FA	3–1	0–1
			Yadanarbon	3–1	0–3
		Round of 16	Bengaluru FC	2–0
		Quarter-final	Johor Darul Ta'zim	1–1	3–1	2–4
2016	AFC Cup	Group G	Yangon United	2–1	2–1	2nd
			Mohun Bagan	0–4	0–3
			Maziya	2–0	2–1
		Round of 16	Ceres	0–1(aet)
		Quarter-final	Johor Darul Ta'zim	1–1	2–1	2–3

Recent seasons

Notable players

Hong Kong

Leung Yuk Tong (梁玉堂)
Lee Wai Tong (李惠堂)
Yiu Cheuk Yin (姚卓然)
Ho Cheung Yau, MBE (何祥友)
Wong Chi Keung (黃志強)
Wong Man Wai (黃文偉) (1967–69), (1972–82)
Chan Kwok Hung (陳國雄) (1972–78)
Kwok Kam Hung (郭錦洪)
Choi York Yee (蔡育瑜) (1973–78), (1980–83)
Chan Sai Kau (陳世九) (1968–78)
Fung Chi Ming (馮志明)
Sze Kin Hei (施建熙)
Wu Kwok Hung (胡國雄) (1971–72)
Ku Kam Fai (顧錦輝) (1984–99)
Wan Chi Keung (尹志強)
Cheung Chi Tak (張志德) (1984–87)
Chan Fat Chi (陳發枝)
Tim Bredbury (巴貝利) (1985–88)
Leslie Santos (山度士) (1980–98)
Dale Tempest (譚拔士) (1989–91)
Richard Lant Armstrong (岩士唐) (1991–92), (1994–95)
Shum Kwok Pui (岑國培) (1986–05)
Lee Kin Wo (李健和) (1995–03)
Au Wai Lun (歐偉倫) (1993–99), (1999–07)
Yau Kin Wai (丘建威) (1995–05)
Cheng Siu Chung (鄭兆聰) (1996), (1998–00), (2001–02)
Sung Linyung (宋連勇) (1993–97)
Cristiano Cordeiro (高尼路) (1998–03)

Austria

Franz Blizenec (1998)

Australia

Robbie Dunn (鄧尼) (1989–90)
Ross Greer (基亞) (1990–92)
George Haniotis (漢尼迪) (1992–93)
Steve Hickman (希文) (1993–94)
David Clarkson (卡臣) (1994–95)
Kris Trajanovski (卓真洛奇) (1994–95)
Stephen Aravena (艾維拉) (1995–96)
Andrew Barisic (2013–14)

Belgium

Peter Geraerts (彼德) (1997–98)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Anto Grabo (基保) (1992–95)
Alen Bajkusa (巴古沙) (1993–94), (1995–96)
Saša Kajkut (2013–14)

Brazil

Rodrigues Neto (尼圖)
da Silva Aurelio (奧拿里奧) (1995–98)
Ailton Grigorio de Araujo (阿拉烏蘇) (1998–00)
José Ricardo Rambo (列卡度) (1998–99)
Aderbal Pericles Farias Filho (仙奴) (2000–02)
Detinho (迪天奴) (2006–09), (2014–15)
Sidraílson (沙域臣) (2007–09), (2009–10)
Itaparica (伊達) (2007–08), (2012–13), (2014–2015)
Maxwell (麥士維) (2007–08), (2008)
Cacá (卡卡) (2009)
Ramón (雷文) (2009)
Leandro Carrijó (卡尼祖) (2009), (2010), (2012)

Canada

Paris Nakajima-Farran (中島法蘭) (2011–12)

China

He Jia (何佳) (1983–86)
Chang Weikang (張惠康) (1991–92)
Wu Qunli (吳群立) (1993–98)
Gong Lei (宮磊) (1997–98)
Zhang Enhua (張恩華) (2005–06)
Du Ping (杜蘋) (2007)

Denmark

Carsten Nielsen (黎路臣) (1981–82)
Graham Easter (依士達) (1997–98)
Jeppe Larson (拿臣) (1997–98)

Ecuador

Félix Borja (2016)

England

Keith Robson (基夫笠臣) (1983)
Chris Lynam (拉南) (1983–85)
Tommy Langley (連尼) (1985–86)
Barry Powell (包維) (1985–86)
Trevor Morgan (摩根) (1991–93)
Steve Neville (尼福) (1991–93) [1]
Brian McDermott (麥達莫) (1992–93)
Billy Whitehurst (韋靴斯) (1992–93)
Fenippe Anderson (安德遜) (1996–97)
Iain Hesford (希福特) (1997–98)
Mike Leonard (李安納) (1998–00)
Nicky Butt (畢特) (2010–11)

Germany

Klaus-Dieter Jank (楊確) (1981–83)

Indonesia

Rochy Putiray (佩迪里) (2002–03)

Malaysia

Chow Chee Keong (仇志強) (1971–74)
Chan Kwok Leung (陳國良)

Netherlands

Cees Storm (史唐) (1982–83)
Arie Haan (海恩) (1984)
Werner Kooistra (威拿) (1993–97) [2]^{[permanent dead link]}
Marcel Leisdek (馬些路) (1993–95)
Marlon Ricardo van der Sander (尹迪辛達) (1993–94)
Dennis Koffyberg (哥夫) (1993–94)
Neils Gerestein (卓斯) (1993–94)
Ad Roos (路殊) (1993–94)
Piet Drommel (杜武) (1994)

New Zealand

Robert Ironside (艾朗西) (1995–96)

Northern Ireland

Chris McGrath (麥格夫) (1983–85)
Allen McKnight (麥禮) (1992–94)

Paraguay

Gerardo Laterza (謝利) (1999–01)

Portugal

Pedro Xavier (沙維亞) (1995–98)

Scotland

Billy Semple (森寶) (1982–83)
Alex Miller (米勒) (1983)
Walker McCall (麥哥) (1983) [3]
Willie Johnston (韋利莊士東) (1983)
Derek Parlane (柏蘭尼) (1985–86)
Max Christie (基斯迪) (1992–93)
Frank McAvennie (麥艾雲尼) (1992–93)
Lee Bullen (李布倫) (1997)

Singapore

Edmund Wee (黃文財) (1981–83), (1984–88) [4]^{[permanent dead link]}

Slovakia

Martin Jancula (甄馬田) (2001–02)

South Africa

John Paskin (柏斯堅) (1984–85)

South Korea

Kim Yeon-Gun (金永健) (2009)

Sweden

Joakim Grandelius (格烈治) (1997–98)
Thomas Walfridsson (華域臣) (1997–98)

Togo

Cris (基斯) (2006–07), (2007–09)

Trinidad and Tobago

Thomas Sheldon (施頓) (1997–98)

Venezuela

Fernando de Ornelas (奧尼拉斯) (1998–99), (2000–01)

Former Yugoslavia (current Serbia)

Marko Perinović (柏連奴域) (1993–94)
Radislav Ignjić (拉迪斯拉夫) (1996–98)
Željko Rolović (洛奴域) (1996–97)
Željko Gavrilović (加連奴域) (1999–01)
Mateja Kežman (基士文) (2011), (2012)

Coaches

As of 30 May 2014. Only competitive matches are counted. Wins, losses and draws are results at the final whistle; the results of penalty shoot-outs are not counted.

Name		Nat	From	To	Record							Honours
English	Chinese	Nat	From	To	P	W	D	L	F	A	%W	Honours
Chu Kwok Lun	朱國倫		1954	1970	?
Kwok Shek	郭石		1970	1977	?
Ng Wai Man	吳偉文		1977	1981	?
Halla	漢拿		1981	1982	?
Kwok Kam Hung	郭錦洪		1982	1982	?
Peter Wong	黃興桂		1982	1983	?
Alex Miller	米勒		1983	1983	?
Ng Wai Man	吳偉文		1983	1984	?
Casemiro Mior	米路		1998	2002	?
Wong Man Wai	黃文偉		2002	2006	?
Chan Kwok Hung	陳國雄
Ku Kam Fai	顧錦輝
Jorge Amaral	阿曼龍		2006	24 Nov 2006	10	6	2	2	20	13	60
Ku Kam Fai* & Chan Kwok Hung*	顧錦輝 & 陳國雄		25 Nov 2006	27 Nov 2006	1	1	0	0	5	2	100
Casemiro Mior	米路		28 Nov 2006	2007	20	15	3	2	49	15	75	1 First Division title, 1 Senior Shield, 1 FA Cup title
José Luís	路爾斯		2007	2008	34	19	4	11	79	41	55.9	1 First Division title, 1 League Cup title
Tsang Wai Chung	曾偉忠		1 July 2008	Sept 17, 2008	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Liu Chun Fai*	廖俊輝		Sept 17, 2008	7 Dec 2008	11	9	1	1	30	7	81.8
Kim Pan-Gon	金判坤		8 Dec 2008	11 Dec 2010	27	19	4	4	72	16	70.4	2 First Division titles, 1 Senior Shield title
Chan Ho Yin*	陳浩然		11 Dec 2010	28 June 2011	28	17	3	8	59	34	60.7	1 League Cup title, 1 FA Cup title
Ján Kocian	高世安		28 June 2011	9 July 2012	26	13	9	4	61	30	50.0
Liu Chun Fai	廖俊輝		9 July 2012	30 June 2013	28	16	6	6	63	28	57.1	1 First Division title
Cheung Po Chun	張寶春		1 July 2013	17 February 2014								1 Senior Shield title
Yeung Ching Kwong	楊正光		17 February 2014	15 December 2014								1 Community Cup title
Mario Gómez	馬里奧		15 December 2014	30 April 2015	18	10	4	4	33	18	55.6
Ricardo Rambo*	列卡度		1 May 2015	14 May 2015	3	2	0	1	6	1	66.7
Casemiro Mior	米路		14 May 2015		3	2	1	0	5	1	66.7
Amir Alagić			2016	2017

Key: * Served as caretaker manager.

Partnerships

On 3 November 2009, South China and Tottenham Hotspur jointly announced a club partnership in Hong Kong. South China became the first club partner of Spurs in Asia. The partnership is for 2 years with an option to extend further. Besides planning in sharing of best practice in any areas of the technical and business sides of football, Tottenham Hotspur has the first option on South China players at all age levels. Tottenham Hotspur will support South China's coaching development through the exchange of scientific data, coaching materials and visits of coaching staffs to and from both teams. The two clubs will explore the possibility of a joint youth Academy and training centre in Hong Kong or in mainland China.^[13]

Songs

1) 南華歌

A new official cheering song for SCAA. It was introduced in the first home match in the 2006–07 season against HKFC. The demo version of the song can be accessed on www.bma.com.hk.

2) 擁南躉之歌^[14]

This is not the official song of South China, and neither was the original official fans' song. It was sung by Albert Cheung 張武孝(also known as: 大Al/Big Al), and became very well known after being released in 1977, especially during late 1970s and the 1980s; during that period South China was a perennial challenger for the top spots in the league, and the song describes how strong and famous the team was.