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Paul McNamara

He has a degree in accountancy but Tsang Chiu-tat can rarely have encountered a calculation as complex as the one of trying to help the Hong Kong under-23 team compete in this month’s Asian Games.
Appointed in July after predecessor Darren Arnott quit to become Football Club head coach, Tsang will work with his full 23-man squad for the first time on the eve of next Wednesday’s opening fixture against hosts Japan in the 45,000-capacity Toyota Stadium.
This week, those players in the city have gathered in the afternoon following morning sessions with their clubs. The Hong Kong Premier League contingent will play for their teams this weekend, with those involved in Sunday’s two matches flying to Aichi prefecture on Monday, 24 hours after the rest of the squad.
Hong Kong face Thailand and Kyrgyzstan in their other two group games on September 20 and 23, respectively.
“It’s not easy [to prepare] because we have limitations,” Tsang, 37, said. “We have to train when players are very tired, so we need to take precautions.”

During a roughly 90-minute session at the Jockey Club HKFA Football Training Centre, Tsang repeatedly urged his players to slow to walking mode as soon as they had completed short and sharp pattern-of-play drills.
“We are trying to do as much as we can in tactical and conceptual terms,” Tsang said.
“I’ve told the players it’s a privilege to play in this tournament, and to be part of the Hong Kong team. They have an opportunity to compete with one of the best sides in Asia and to show themselves. The keys in this preparation period are going to be our attitude and mentality.”
A former right-back, Tsang took charge of Yuen Long, the club where he finished his career at the tender age of 27, in 2016.
Less than two years later he led them to the Senior Shield title. A role at Lee Man took in a title win in 2023, before a poor start to the following season cost him his job.
Back with the top flight side as technical director since the middle of last year, Tsang recently obtained his AFC Pro Licence.
“It was an honour and a privilege to be asked to help the Hong Kong team,” Tsang said. “I think I’ve improved as a coach [since leaving Lee Man] but in reality everything depends on performances and results, so I leave it to others to decide if I have.”
An excellent training ground communicator in English as well as Cantonese, having pursued his accountancy qualification at City University of Hong Kong, Tsang has a hard act to follow after Jorn Andersen led the city team to the semi-finals three years ago.
That 2023 competition was a very different beast from the 2026 edition, however, with the city team given a free pass out of their group after losing twice to Uzbekistan, before shocking Palestine and Iran en route to a semi-final defeat by Japan.
“People have expectations, but we can’t control how others think of us,” Tsang said. “The most important thing is that we show the values of the Hong Kong team, and I am demanding that everyone gives their best in the tournament.”

Midfielder Wu Chun-ming, 28, an overage player in 2023, is reprising that role this year. The three-man quota is completed by 28-year-old Qingdao Hainiu midfielder Ngan Cheuk-pan, and Helio Goncalves, the 40-year-old defender who was a Citizen teammate of Tsang’s around 15 years ago.
“The older players need extra care, and I’ll tell [Goncalves] that if he needs rest and to not train, it’s OK, I’ll accept it,” Tsang said. “We have good communication and he brings a lot of value to the team.”
The owner of 38 senior Hong Kong caps, Goncalves refers to himself as a “coach on the field” for current club Eastern District, but Tsang said the centre-back would be only one of 23 leaders in his squad.
“I demand that everyone thinks for themselves and makes their own decisions, so they are all coaches,” he added.
The mainland-based pair of Ng Yu-hei and Timmy Ma Hei-wai, and Jeremy Tsang Lok-to, who plays and studies in America, will link up with the squad this weekend.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Hong Kong named a 48-man squad for the “September to October Fifa window”, without any reference to the Fifa Asean Cup the city is supposed to be hosting this month.
Despite announcing in June that they would stage the second-tier Challenge Division of the new tournament, the Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) did not specify in their latest release who or when their representative team would be playing.
The world governing body has listed group fixtures for Hong Kong against Laos and Brunei at Kai Tak Stadium on September 27 and 30, respectively, having previously removed them from its website.
The South China Morning Post has been told that the HKFA expects the tournament to go ahead.
Wu and Ngan are among 10 players from the Asian Games squad included in the provisional senior party.
Local Premier League club Eastern have parted company with head coach Manu Torres and the Spaniard’s backroom staff Juan Serrano, Javier Benavent and Roberto Diaz.
Cristiano Cordeiro, the assistant boss, has been appointed acting head coach “until further notice”.
Eastern lost their opening two league fixtures but Torres appeared to have bought himself some breathing space following a 4-0 win over Kowloon City on Saturday.


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Tsang Chiu-tat issues instructions to his Hong Kong squad during training. Photo: Sun Yeung

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Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee presented the city’s flag to the Hong Kong delegation. Photo: SF&OC

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Sport

Football

Only appointed in July, Tsang Chiu-tat will not work with his full squad until 24 hours before opening fixture against hosts


Only appointed in July, Tsang Chiu-tat will not work with his full squad until 24 hours before opening fixture against hosts.


Asian Games 2026

Ngan Cheuk-pan

Asian Games: Hong Kong football boss left with little time to prepare for Japan test

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Only appointed in July, Tsang Chiu-tat will not work with his full squad until 24 hours before opening fixture against hosts

Only appointed in July, Tsang Chiu-tat will not work with his full squad until 24 hours before opening fixture against hosts