HKFC Soccer Sevens
{{Infobox football tournament
| name =
| logo =
| caption =
| founded = 1999
| abolished =
| region =
| number of teams = 16 Main, 10 Masters
| current champions = {{Flagicon|England}} Brighton & Hove Albion
| most titles =
| most successful club = {{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa (7 titles){{cite web|url=http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2775117,00.html|title=Jones: I'll never forget Gabby's performances in Hong Kong Sevens|publisher=Aston Villa F.C. Official Website|date=June 2012|accessdate=2013-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904182144/http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2775117,00.html|archive-date=2012-09-04|url-status=dead}}
| most successful team =
| broadcasters =
| motto =
| website = http://www.hksoccersevens.com/
| current = 2025
}}
The HKFC Soccer Sevens or Hong Kong Soccer Sevens, known as the HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens for sponsorship purposes,{{Cite web |date=6 March 2024 |title=Press Release: Standard Chartered Priority Private Takes Centre Stage as Title Sponsor for the 2024 HKFC Soccer Sevens |url=https://soccer-sevens-fe-uat.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/pdf/Standard+Chartered+Priority+Private+Takes+Centre+Stage+as+Title+Sponsor+for+the+2024+HKFC+Soccer+Sevens_6+Mar+2024_EN.pdf |access-date=26 March 2024 |website=HK Soccer Sevens}} is an annual invitational seven-a-side football tournament which is organised and hosted by Hong Kong Football Club.[http://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1249892/plenty-potential-hong-kong-soccer-sevens South China Morning Post - Plenty of Potential for Hong Kong Soccer Sevens. Retrieved 13 November 2013.] Held since 1999, many young professional players have made a name for themselves in the tournament.
The competition ran from 1999 to 2019, with a break due to the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong in 2003. In 2020, the organisers confirmed that the competition would not be happening that year due to the ongoing issues in Hong Kong - promising to be back in 2021, but this did not happen with the tournament's website going offline.{{Cite web|date=2020-02-06|title=Hong Kong Soccer Sevens cancelled amid coronavirus|url=https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3049308/hong-kong-soccer-sevens-cancelled-amid-coronavirus-outbreak|access-date=2022-01-17|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}} In 2023, the organisers confirmed that the competition would return after a four-year hiatus.{{Cite web |date=2023-02-06 |title='Iconic' Hong Kong Soccer Sevens returns in May after 4-year hiatus |url=https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3209279/hong-kong-soccer-sevens-organisers-hail-return-iconic-tournament-may-after-4-year-hiatus |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}
In 2024, the organisers announced that a women's edition of the tournament would take place alongside the men's.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-28 |title=Aston Villa to defend Hong Kong Soccer Sevens as top English clubs are confirmed |url=https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3257093/hkfc-standard-chartered-soccer-sevens-champions-aston-villa-set-hong-kong-among-host-english-premier |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}
Format
- The event features two competitions, a Main Tournament and Masters Tournament. The 16-team Main Tournament is open age group (players must be at least 16) and features mostly youth and academy teams from clubs in Europe playing against more senior players from leagues around Asia.{{cite web|title=HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens Rules|url=http://www.hksoccersevens.com/guide/rules/|website=HKFC Soccer Sevens|accessdate=16 May 2016}}
- The 10-team Masters Tournament is for players aged 35 and over and features former players from Europe's top leagues. Players such as Jürgen Klinsmann, John Barnes, Andy Cole, Matt Le Tissier, Des Walker, Didier Six, Mustapha Hadji, Peter Beardsley, Craig Armstrong, David Johnson, Des Lyttle, Jason Lee, and Michael Thomas have competed in this category.
- Each game has two seven-minute halves with a one-minute half-time break, while the finals are 10 minutes each half with a three-minute break at half-time.
- There are two stages: the group stage followed by the knockout stage. In the Main group stage, teams compete within four groups of four teams each. Each group plays a round-robin tournament, in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. The top two teams from each group advance to the Cup knockout stage while the bottom two advance to the Plate knockout stage. In the Masters Tournament, the 12 teams are split into three groups of four teams.
- The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with penalty shootouts and sudden death used to decide the winner if necessary. It begins with the quarter-finals in which the third-placed team plays against the fourth-placed team in Plate and the winner of each group plays against the runner-up of another group in Cup. This is followed by the semi-finals and the final.
- The Main Tournament has an additional Shield competition which is contested by the four losing teams of the Cup quarter-finals. The Shield is also a single-elimination tournament of similar format. The Cup is regarded as the highest honour, followed by the Shield and Plate.
Past winners
=Men=
| class="sortable wikitable" | |
| rowspan="1" align="center" |Season
! rowspan="1" align="center" |Title Sponsor ! colspan="1" align="center" |Main Cup !Main Shield !Main Plate ! colspan="1" align="center" |Masters Cup ! colspan="1" align="center" |Player of the Tournament | |
|---|---|
| align="center" |1999
|None |{{Flagicon|England}} Blackburn Rovers ! colspan="2" rowspan="4" | |Carling All Stars | |
| align="center" |2000
| rowspan="3" |Philips Lighting |{{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Instant Dict |Lorenz All Stars | |
| align="center" |2001
|{{Flagicon|England}} Arsenal |Instant Dict Veterans | |
| align="center" |2002
|{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa |Philips All Stars | |
| align="center" |2003
| colspan="6" align="center" |Not Held due to SARS outbreak[http://www.celticprogrammesonline.com/hongkong7s.htm Celtic Programmes Online - CELTIC IN THE HKFC INTERNATIONAL SOCCER SEVENS] | |
| align="center" |2004
| rowspan="5" |Philips Lighting |{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa ! colspan="2" | | Philips All Stars |
| align="center" |2005
|{{Flagicon|Japan}} Urawa Red Diamonds ! |{{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Kitchee |Lorenz All Stars | |
| align="center" |2006
|{{Flagicon|Japan}} Urawa Red Diamonds ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | |Lorenz All Stars | |
| align="center" |2007
|{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa |Lorenz All Stars | |
| align="center" |2008
|{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa |{{Flagicon|JPN}} Urawa Red Diamonds |{{Flagicon|NED}} PSV Eindhoven |Rangers Legends | |
| align="center" |2009
| rowspan="2" |IP Global |{{Flagicon|Scotland}} Celtic |{{Flagicon|KOR}} Daejeon Citizen |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Birmingham City |Golden Rainbow | |
| align="center" |2010
|{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa |{{Flagicon|NED}} Ajax |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Eastleigh |Kokusai F.C. Tokyo | |
| align="center" |2011
| rowspan="5" |Citibank |{{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Kitchee |{{Flagicon|KOR}} Daejeon Citizen |{{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} HKFC Captain's Select |Top Class F.C. | |
| align="center" |2012
|{{Flagicon|England}} Newcastle United |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Leicester City |{{Flagicon|ENG}} West Ham United | |
| align="center" |2013
|{{Flagicon|England}} Leicester City |{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa |{{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Hong Kong Rangers |Rangers All Stars | |
| align="center" |2014
|{{Flagicon|England}} Manchester City |{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Leicester City |Aegon Ajax All Stars | |
| align="center" |2015
|{{Flagicon|Spain}} Atlético Madrid |{{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Hong Kong Rangers |{{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Hong Kong FC |USRC-BTS | |
| align="center" |2016
| rowspan="4" |Citi |{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Leicester City |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Stoke City |Citi All Stars |Khalid Abdo | |
| align="center" |2017
|{{Flagicon|England}} Leicester City |{{Flagicon|ENG}} West Ham United |{{Flagicon|GER}} Bayer Leverkusen |Citi All Stars | |
| align="center" |2018
|{{Flagicon|England}} Newcastle United |{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa |{{Flagicon|AUS}} Newcastle Jets |Discovery Bay | |
| align="center" |2019
|{{Flagicon|ENG}} Newcastle United |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Wolverhampton Wanderers |{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa | |
| align="center" |2020
| colspan="6" rowspan="3" align="center" |Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing Hong Kong protests{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=13 February 2020|title=The 2020 edition of the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens has been cancelled due to the ongoing issues in Hong Kong.|url=http://www.hksoccersevens.com/the-2020-edition-of-the-hkfc-citi-soccer-sevens-has-been-cancelled-due-to-the-ongoing-issues-in-hong-kong/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=27 July 2020|website=HKFC Soccer Sevens}} | |
| align="center" |2021 | |
| align="center" |2022 | |
| align="center" |2023
|Citi{{Cite web |date=2023-04-21 |title=Aston Villa, Newcastle among 5 Premier League clubs to play in Hong Kong |url=https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3217900/aston-villa-and-newcastle-united-among-premier-league-clubs-heading-hong-kong-soccer-sevens |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}} |{{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Newcastle United |{{Flagicon|SCO}} Rangers | |
| align="center" |2024
| rowspan="2" |Standard Chartered |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Brighton & Hove Albion |{{Flagicon|ENG}} Leicester City |{{Flagicon|JPN}} Yokohama F. Marinos |PFA All Stars | |
| align="center" |2025
| | | | | |
=Women=
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Title Sponsor !Cup Winner !Plate Winner !Player of the Tournament |
| 2024
| rowspan="2" |Standard Chartered |{{Flagicon|HKG}} Chelsea FC Soccer School |{{Flagicon|HKG}} Hong Kong FC |Anke Leung |
| 2025
| | | |
= Records =
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Team !Cup Wins !Shield Wins !Plate Wins |
| {{Flagicon|England}} Aston Villa
|7 (2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2023) |3 (2013, 2014, 2018) |1 (2019) |
| {{Flagicon|England}} Newcastle United
|3 (2012, 2018, 2019) |1 (2023) |0 |
| {{Flagicon|England}} Leicester City
|2 (2013, 2017) |3 (2012, 2016, 2024) |1 (2014) |
| {{Flagicon|Japan}} Urawa Red Diamonds
|2 (2005, 2006) |1 (2008) |0 |
| {{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Kitchee
|1 (2011) |0 |1 (2005) |
| {{Flagicon|England}} Arsenal
|1 (2001) |0 |0 |
| {{Flagicon|Spain}} Atlético Madrid
|1 (2015) |0 |0 |
| {{Flagicon|ENG}} Blackburn Rovers
|1 (1999) |0 |0 |
| {{Flagicon|ENG}} Brighton & Hove Albion
|1 (2024) |0 |0 |
| {{Flagicon|Scotland}} Celtic
|1 (2009) |0 |0 |
| {{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Instant Dict
|1 (2000) |0 |0 |
| {{Flagicon|England}} Manchester City
|1 (2014) |0 |0 |
| {{Flagicon|KOR}} Daejeon Citizen
|0 |2 (2009, 2011) |0 |
| {{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Hong Kong Rangers
|0 |1 (2015) |1 (2013) |
| {{Flagicon|ENG}} West Ham United
|0 |1 (2017) |1 (2012) |
| {{Flagicon|NED}} Ajax
|0 |1 (2010) |0 |
| {{Flagicon|ENG}} Wolverhampton Wanderers
|0 |1 (2019) |0 |
| {{Flagicon|GER}} Bayer Leverkusen
|0 |0 |1 (2017) |
| {{Flagicon|ENG}} Birmingham City
|0 |0 |1 (2009) |
| {{Flagicon|ENG}} Eastleigh
|0 |0 |1 (2010) |
| {{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} Hong Kong FC
|0 |0 |1 (2015) |
| {{Flagicon|Hong Kong}} HKFC Captain's Select
|0 |0 |1 (2011) |
| {{Flagicon|AUS}} Newcastle Jets
|0 |0 |1 (2018) |
| {{Flagicon|NED}} PSV Eindhoven
|0 |0 |1 (2008) |
| {{Flagicon|SCO}} Rangers
|0 |0 |1 (2023) |
| {{Flagicon|ENG}} Stoke City
|0 |0 |1 (2016) |
| {{Flagicon|JPN}} Yokohama F. Marinos
|0 |0 |1 (2024) |
References
External links
- [http://www.hksoccersevens.com Hong Kong Soccer Sevens Official Website]
{{HKFC International Soccer Sevens}}
{{Hong Kong Football Club}}
Category:HKFC International Soccer Sevens