She shoots, she scores: footballers fight to go pro

Grace Citizen’s young number nine, Li Hau-yi, is a rising star in women’s football in Hong Kong. She dreams of representing the SAR, but ironically, her path to success may first take her away from the city, where she can best develop her game by competing against elite players in a professional league. "I want to be someone who contributes to Hong Kong’s football scene. My goal is to secure a ‘first eleven’ spot on the Hong Kong team. I also hope to be a role model for others; someone people are proud to have as a friend, or a family member," she said. To make the next step, the 17-year-old will have to take a break from her studies to move to a side in the Chinese Super League because Hong Kong does not have a professional women’s league. She said this way, she can concentrate on the sport. "I think being a footballer in Hong Kong, in my experience, is quite difficult," Li said. "I go to school in the morning at eight, and then practise until around nine or ten in the evening. Sometimes I arrive home at eleven before having to wake up early again the next day," she said, describing her average day in the SAR.

Li’s teammate, Iris Kwok, 30, knows a thing or two about the challenges of playing professionally outside of Hong Kong. Kwok played in the territory’s amateur and semi-professional leagues for two decades before Spanish second-tier side Rayo Vallecano added her to their roster in March. Kwok said the transition was tough. "The playing-level is high there, whether that is the technique or physicality, so it took a bit of time to adapt. The players are very professional and they come really prepared. Their technique is incredible and their speed is fast so, after training with them, I feel like I have improved a lot." But joining the squad partway through the season meant Kwok was unable to register with the Spanish league, and so did not feature for the Vallecano first team. Kwok’s coach at Citizen, Leung Kwun-chung, said he was not surprised his former captain caught the eye of an overseas side. Leung noted that the path Kwok has gone down is one of the things that could benefit local football in the long term, adding that Kwok’s experience abroad had inspired her teammates at Citizen. "I'm trying to provide more chances for the players to play at the highest level. And once they come back, supposedly the general standard, the club standard, or the level of Hong Kong will be increased." Leung has been coaching Grace Citizen for two years, but he is better known for his achievements as a player. The defender and midfielder has eleven caps for the Hong Kong men's international team, and has a Premier League trophy to his name with local side Tai Po. Now, as a coach, he quickly learnt that the women's game is very different; with precious few resources, but plenty of potential. "Men's football in Hong Kong, maybe they've already got the model…You cannot change too much,” he said. "But the women's world is totally different. Maybe they’ve just started, it’s just the beginning. We don't have the professional league, and maybe one of the advantages of that is we don't have any limitations." Leung said he is trying to make the most of the resources he has at his disposal. That means he is boosting social media exposure, and trying to fill gaps in staffing to maximise players’ potential. And all this, he hopes, will raise the profile of women’s football in the SAR and attract more money and resources to the sport. Coach Leung's philosophy at Grace Citizen is having a knock-on effect among the younger members of his squad, one that is epitomised by Li. "I am so keen to go abroad, whenever more people are sent out, it rouses my determination, which makes me work harder, and believe in myself more.”

She shoots, she scores: footballers fight to go pro

She shoots, she scores: footballers fight to go pro

She shoots, she scores: footballers fight to go pro

She shoots, she scores: footballers fight to go pro

She shoots, she scores: footballers fight to go pro