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Lunar New Year Cup

Cleiton Velasques scores for Kitchee in their HKFA Senior Shield semi final win Against Lee Man at Mong Kok Stadium. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Kitchee to play Eastern in Senior Shield final on Lunar New Year’s Day

Memories of traditional Lunar New Year Cup will be rekindled when the two Hong Kong heavyweights help kick off the festive celebrations in the city.

The two Hong Kong heavyweights will help kick off the festive celebrations in the city in the absence of traditional Lunar New Year Cup
Favourites Kitchee expect a tough time with first trophy of the season up for grabs at Hong Kong Stadium on January 22

6 Jan 2023 - 7:00PM

Football Association pulls plug on Lunar New Year Cup for fourth year

20 Dec 2022 - 7:27PM

Maradona, Messi and Son Heung-min – Hong Kong’s football tourists

18 Jan 2021 - 12:41PMvideocam

Local football season unlikely to resume before Lunar New Year

Football Association chairman Pui Kwan-kay says there are no plans to extend the season beyond June even if it suffers further disruptions caused by the pandemic.

6 Jan 2021 - 7:00PM

Kitchee players and officials celebrate after the club were crowned the Hong Kong Premier League champions of the 2019/20 season. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

A (provisional) Hong Kong sports calendar for 2021

The hope is that things will quickly get back to normal in 2021, but many Hong Kong staples are yet to be scheduled for the coming year.

31 Dec 2020 - 3:22PM

Hong Kong football star gets her baptism of fire ... playing in Albania

Wai Yuen-ting makes bold move to try her luck with Balkan club Vllaznia, hoping other women would take the plunge and play overseas in Europe

23 Jun 2020 - 10:14PM

‘Jesus’ Currie writing about Hong Kong’s glory years on and off the field

The Scot chats about his world record attempt of 116 Star Ferry crossings and celebrity links with Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Marvin Hagler and Stevie Wonder

6 Jun 2020 - 10:50PM

Seiko's Derek Currie (right) takes a shot but is blocked by Western Youth’s Cheung Chi-ming in a game played in April 1978. Photo: SCMP

When Pele hit a hat-trick against Newcastle United in Hong Kong

Several of the Brazil legend’s 1,281 career goals came in Hong Kong on tour with club side Santos, while his trip to the city in 1970 had an inadvertent effect on the local game.

4 Jun 2020 - 8:00AM

Footballer Ha confident of getting through difficult time interrupted by pandemic

Pay cut for Premier League players following coronavirus-shaken economy.

6 May 2020 - 10:22PM

Hong Kong clubs threaten to boycott matches over facilities

Club representatives say the Tseung Kwan O centre facilities are inadequate and they would prefer playing behind closed doors at proper venues

14 Feb 2020 - 10:30PM

BC Rangers conduct their half-time talk on the pitch because the changing rooms at Tseung Kwan O Training Centre are too far away. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

Women’s football hopes for more despite New Year showcase being scrapped

Lunar New Year Cup showcase game cancelled because of Wuhan coronavirus but HKFA’s Betty Wong wants annual game, while Ricardo Rambo wants to change thinking that women’s game is mere recreation.

25 Jan 2020 - 10:00AM

China's Tang Jiali vies for the ball with Taiwan’s Chang Chi-lan during the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong Lunar New Year Cup cancelled over coronavirus fears

Potential health risks too great, says Football Association chairman Pui Kwan-kay, as Hong Kong tightens monitoring of the virus.

23 Jan 2020 - 10:47PM

Lunar New Year Cup to feature local sides because of the social unrest

HKFA wants the traditional showpiece to continue despite the lukewarm response from overseas clubs who opted out of sending a team to the city

7 Jan 2020 - 10:46PM

Lunar New Year Cup to go ahead despite lack of overseas teams

The worst-case scenario may see two local sides against each other in blow to traditional new year event with the annual Interport Cup against Guangdong also put on hold.

13 Dec 2019 - 10:33PM

China’s Shandong Luneng players celebrate winning the 2019 Lunar New Year Cup. Photo: Dickson Lee

Lunar New Year Cup set for a boost after increased government funding

Vice chairman Pui Kwan-kay wants stronger teams for Lunar New Year Cup with government financial backing

23 May 2019 - 10:59PM

China’s Shandong Luneng claimed the 2019 Lunar New Year Cup after defeating Sagan Tosu from Japan at the Hong Kong Stadium. Photo: Dickson Lee

Kevin Bond wants Hong Kong job after Lunar New Year Cup success

Englishman leads Hong Kong to third place at annual tournament, but could face competition with Ian Holloway expressing interest in vacant role

8 Feb 2019 - 10:14PM

Breaking | Shandong Luneng lift Chinese New Year Cup after bad-tempered final

Chinese Super League club run out 3-1 winners in Hong Kong Stadium

7 Feb 2019 - 9:45PM

Lunar New Year Cup: Hong Kong claim third place with win over Auckland City

Auckland City are runaway leaders of the New Zealand Premiership but fall to a 1-0 loss against the local outfit

7 Feb 2019 - 10:40PM

Hong Kong’s CNY select team held on to beat Auckland City and claim third sport in the Lunar New Year Cup at Hong Kong Stadium. Photos: Dickson Lee

Lunar New Year Cup: Hong Kong lose on penalties to Fernando Torres’ Sagan Tosu

The matches finishes 1-1 after 90 minutes before the J.League side win the shoot-out 4-2

5 Feb 2019 - 10:01PM

Lunar New Year Cup: Shandong Luneng book place in final after win over Auckland City

The Chinese Super League side had to fight back from a goal down with Brazilian Roger Guedes hitting a double

5 Feb 2019 - 8:09PM

Pig day out: festive fun as Hong Kong celebrates Lunar New Year

City residents take in traditional festivities, heading to the soccer and making offerings to the Wishing Tree.

5 Feb 2019 - 4:38PM

Children out and about for the Lunar New Year festivities. Photo: AFP

Relive Lunar New Year Cups past in our slideshow

Superstar names have graced the pitch at Hong Kong Stadium and several have gone on to lift the trophy

4 Feb 2019 - 8:03AM

Brazil’s players celebrate after winning the 2005 Carlsberg Cup. Photo: AFP

Is Lunar New Year Cup the world’s most diverse football tournament?

Fernando Torres and Marouane Fellaini will follow in the footsteps of football’s biggest names in appearing at historic tournament

3 Feb 2019 - 10:25PM

Who are the sides that will compete at this year’s Lunar New Year Cup?

Four-team format returns for 2019 edition

2 Feb 2019 - 9:23PM

Marouane Fellaini in line to make Shandong Luneng debut in Hong Kong

Belgium international due to arrive Guangzhou today to join up with new club

1 Feb 2019 - 10:34PM

Shandong Luneng’s Marouane Fellaini could be line to make his debut in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters

Lunar New Year Cup: a history of stellar sides, superstars and sporting gestures

Stars like Hristo Stoichkov, Rene Higuita, Luis Hernandez and Peter Schmeichel all played in Hong Kong

1 Feb 2019 - 10:37AM

Peter Schmeichel (right) at the 1994 Carlsberg Cup draw with one of the chief organisers Derek Currie. Photo: Derek Currie

Fernando Torres and Graziano Pelle confirmed to play in Hong Kong showpiece

23 Jan 2019 - 10:23PM

Spanish star Torres ‘99.99 per cent sure for Lunar New Year Cup’: organisers

Organisers expecting 30,000 tickets to be sold, with 20,000 sales needed to break even

17 Jan 2019 - 10:39PM

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Lunar New Year Cup

The Lunar New Year Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) since 1908. It is usually held on the first and fourth days of the Chinese New Year as a part of the city's new year celebrations. Formerly known as the Carlsberg Cup, Brazil, Norway, Uruguay and Denmark national sides have previously competed in the competition. In recent years, the mini-tournament has consisted of club sides from Asia and the Americas, and a representative Hong Kong select.