Hong Kong Team vs Inter Miami CF: 3 city players who will go to head-to-head with David Beckham and Lionel Messi’s all-star team of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez

Feb 2 , 2024

An all-star line-up of local heroes play as Hong Kong Team in an exhibition match against Inter Miami CF at Hong Kong Stadium on February 4. Photo: @shinichi_ahyat/Instagram

Hong Kong ended 2023 with a stellar Clockenflap line-up, but there’s an even bigger international spectacle ahead, with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF in town to take on Hong Kong Team’s local heroes on February 4

Goalie Yapp Hung-fai is Hong Kong’s most capped player, while Philip Chan Siu-kwan could have followed in his father’s footsteps to become a jockey but chose football instead

Tickets to the Hong Kong Team vs Inter Miami CF football match, as well as the open training session a day earlier, were immediately sold out as excited fans vied for the chance to see Lionel Messi up close in action. Inter Miami CF president and co-owner David Beckham is said to be among those catching the game.

Inter Miami CF takes on Hong Kong Team at the Hong Kong stadium on February 4. Photo: @intermiamicf/Instagram

While fans already know the Argentinian World Cup-winning captain and his all-star Inter Miami CF teammates Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez, Hong Kong Team players going shoulder to shoulder with these legends may be less familiar to us.

Shinichi Chan is one of the youngest players in Hong Kong Team. Photo: @shinichi_ahyat/Instagram

The Hong Kong Football Association recently announced its line-up for the match, which includes players from Team Hong Kong and all 11 Hong Kong Premier League teams. In total, 19 of the 40 players on the roster are from the premier league teams.

Ahead of the big match at Hong Kong Stadium on February 4, we run down three local city players anyone tuning in should know.

1. Philip Chan Siu-kwan

Midfielder Philip Chan Siu-kwan trained in Brazil when he was just 14. Photo: @hkfa_official/Instagram

The midfielder is currently with Tai Po FC. Chan grew up in the world of competitive sports – his father is renowned former Hong Kong champion jockey Tony Chan.

Though he did not follow in his father’s footsteps, he carved out his own path at a young age, training at the youth academy with Brazilian club Gremio FBPA when he was just 14.

Philip Chan Siu-kwan has played in a number of Hong Kong Premier League teams. Photo: @tpfc/Instagram

He also trained with the Guangzhou City Football Club but has spent most his professional career playing in various teams in the Hong Kong Premier League. The footballer is a University of Hong Kong graduate in exercise and health. He’s said to be fluent in English and picked up Portuguese when training in Brazil.