Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13.
Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City.
The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council.
Photo: CNA
Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two groups at the Sinjhuang Sports Fields for the preliminary rounds of the tournament, which was its third edition.
Cheered on by family members and friends, the Kaohsiung & HK Football Club prevailed over New Taipei City-based Linkou HK Club 1-0 to win the cup.
Taipei HK and Hsinchu-based Zhubei United were third and fourth respectively.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
Games started in the morning. After a lunch break, the Formosa Kickerz freestyle juggling group performed, followed by a symbolic kickoff ceremony and speeches by officials, including from the MAC.
Organizer Roy Hung in an interview yesterday said that he and his friends created the annual tournament because “football is more than a sport for Hong Kong and Macau people — it has been ingrained culture for many years, especially in Hong Kong, which was a colony of Great Britain, where they have crazy passion for football.”
Hung, a soccer commentator and chief executive officer of AIM Creative Sports Group, is from Hong Kong and now lives in Taiwan.
“Football has become a lifestyle for many Hong Kong and Macau people,” he said. “We watch the English professional matches and local games, and we play football when get off work.”
“Most importantly, football is the most popular sport worldwide and it is a must for those who engage in global business,” he said.
“Knowing football means knowing the world and keeping up with the international trend,” Hung said.
Taiwan’s government and society welcome the people of Hong Kong and Macau as “new immigrants” to start a new life, and their soccer culture taking root in this country, said Lu Chang-shui, who heads the MAC’s Hong Kong, Macau, Inner Mongolia and Tibet Affairs Division.
“The MAC has sponsored this tournament from its humble start three years ago with only four teams to the 12 teams it has now, with participants totaling more than 250 people originally from Hong Kong or Macau now living and working across Taiwan,” Lu said.
“This competition will continue to grow, because soccer is a beloved game in Hong Kong and Macau, and is getting more popular in Taiwan,” he said. “By playing soccer and stoking enthusiasm for the game, they are helping to build bridges and make new friends in Taiwan.”
The MAC and the Taiwan-HK council offer programs and services for transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese to help them settle in Taiwan, Lu said.
Charles Ting, who played in the tournament for Northern HK-Macau, said that he was a semi-professional player in Hong Kong’s second division for 15 years.
“I still love to play after retiring from my job as a firefighter, though it’s a pity football is not that popular in Taiwan,” Ting said.
“By joining a team here, I can enjoy my love for the game with those who also share the same passion and can socialize in Taiwan,” he said.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
RSS