BEST FOOT FORWARD

Inter Miami, of course, are not the only team taking part in the clash on February 4. The illustrious visitors will line up against a high-quality select XI of local Hong Kong stars, many of them regulars with the city's national side 

- Richard Lord

The Hong Kong football team have been making a splash of late. In January, they beat the China team for the first time in almost three decades, gaining a 2-1 victory in a friendly in Abu Dhabi. At the Hangzhou Asian Games in October, they beat Palestine and Iran, reaching the semi-finals; they ultimately placed fourth out of the 21 men’s teams that participated. This was a first, and a new high, for Hong Kong men’s football—before this, their best performance at the games was back in 1958, when they reached the quarterfinals. The historic achievement marks a reversal of fortune for the team in a remarkably short period of time: just a month before the Asian Games, they had lost 0-10 to Uzbekistan. The team’s growth and success are attributed to the efforts of its head coach Jørn Andersen, who signed a two-year contract extension with the Hong Kong Football Association in mid-2023; he will also lead the team in the February match against Inter Miami. At the time of writing, the team are preparing for the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Asian Cup 2023—the first time the Hong Kong men’s have made the finals since 1968.

But, whatever international football they might have played, for many of them, the Inter Miami game represents the opportunity of a lifetime.

For some, like Shinichi Chan, who will turn out on the left for the local XI, playing a team of Inter Miami’s calibre is an unexpected opportunity.