With the football season in Europe’s top leagues reaching a finale in every month of May, this period of time serves the most intriguing piece of footballing actions for fans from all four corners of the world. As for the year of 2023, fanatics and spectators in the world of football will have another fascinating football event ready to catch their eyes, that is, the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens, which is set to return to the global stage after a four-year long absence from everyone’s sight. Taking place from 26th till 28th May 2023, the three-day tournament will be headlined by English Premier League clubs Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City this year.
Aston Villa the Most Successful Team
Hosted and organised by Hong Kong Football Club, the first edition of the competition was held in 1999 and could have easily extended its longevity to more than two decades, if it was not for events like the SARS outbreak, major protests and the global Covid-19 pandemic. After careful considerations and thorough preparations, coupled with the subsiding of the coronavirus outburst, the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens is finally back to entice football fans’ experience with tight match-ups.
The tournament features two categories, the Main Tournament and Masters Tournament. The former opens to 16 teams with players aged 16 and above and usually sees youth and academy footballers in Europe’s top football leagues going up against the veterans and seniors in Asian clubs, while the latter witnesses battles between players who are above the age of 35 and were the biggest names in the football industry. Stars that had played in this age group were the likes of Jürgen Klinsmann (Former Germany striker), John Barnes (Liverpool’s legendary winger), Andy Cole (Ex Manchester United’s no. 9), etc.
Separating into two halves with a one-minute break, the total game time for each game in these categories is 14 minutes, and is extended to 20 with a three-minute rest in the finale. Teams in the Main Tournament will be placed into four groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout round after three rounds of group matches, whereas the Master Tournament will split teams into three groups of four. Apart from the eventual cup win, the contest also offers extra match-ups for the Shield (Battles between losing quarterfinalists) and Plate (Clashes between the bottom two teams in each group) accolades to further elevate the heights of the tournament.
CHAMPIONS @NUFC @hksoccer7s Main Cup winners #hksoccer7s pic.twitter.com/IvWla4kOe7
— HK Soccer Sevens (@hksoccer7s) May 19, 2019
Magpies the Last Winner
Winners from the Main Tournament were usually clubs from the famous English Premier League, with Aston Villa winning it a record six times, followed closely by three wins from one of the current Top Four teams in the league, the up and rising Newcastle United. In addition to triumphs by the Claret and Blue and Magpies, football powerhouses such as Arsenal, Leicester City, Manchester City, Urawa Red Diamonds, Celtic, Atlético Madrid, etc. had also emerged victorious in the Main Tournament group in the past.
In the 21st edition of the tournament this year, we will be looking forward to U-21 players from Newcastle United dedicating themselves to defend the title they won four years ago. But doing it so will not be easy as they will be surely meet strong resistances from their English counterparts in the Leicester City U-21 squad. The Foxes, whose senior team is struggling and might be relegated from the Premier League at the end of this season, will hope to brush off their season disappointments and capture their third Hong Kong Soccer Sevens title this time around.
Watch Hong Kong Soccer Sevens Wherever You Are via AsiaSport!
That being said, those who are not available to travel to Hong Kong for the live scenes may use AsiaSport.com‘s HD stream services to watch live actions on their TV or mobile devices. Home to all football leagues, major and minor ones across the globe, AsiaSport is the one-stop centre for enthusiasts to catch football match perks regardless of time and location. What is more interesting is that registering an account at AsiaSport requires absolutely NO FEE and the procedure will be completed within seconds through the fulfillment of straightforward terms and basic user information. You may visit https://www.asiasport.com/en/signup and be ready to receive football news, live updates, match highlights, post-match conferences, etc. for FREE at your fingertips without any further delay. Hop on the train right away before it is too late!
