R&F (Hong Kong)
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| Full name | R&F (Hong Kong) Soccer Limited 富力（香港）足球有限公司 | ||
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| Founded | 2016 | ||
| Dissolved | 2020 | ||
| Ground | Yanzigang Stadium, Guangzhou | ||
| Capacity | 2,000 | ||
| Website | http://www.gzrffc.com.cn | ||
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| R&F | |||||||||||
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| Chinese | 富力R&F | ||||||||||
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R&F (Hong Kong) Soccer Limited (Chinese: 富力（香港）足球有限公司), commonly known as R&F (Chinese: 富力R&F), was an association football team based in Guangzhou, China which competed in the Hong Kong Premier League between 2016 and 2020. It was owned by Chinese property developers R&F Properties as a satellite team of Chinese Super League side Guangzhou City.
The club's name "R&F" is short for "Rich" (富) and "Force" (力) in Mandarin Chinese.
History
[edit]R&F were founded and registered at the Hong Kong Football Association in the summer of 2016. As a satellite team of Chinese Super League side Guangzhou City, most of its players were loanees from the Guangzhou City reserves. On 1 August 2016, they were accepted into the Hong Kong Premier League with following conditions: (1) Signing at least eight Hong Kong players. (2) Using at least three Hong Kong players in a match. (3) Sponsoring a cup competition with a fee of $1 million.[1] The club finished their inaugural season in 10th place with 3 wins, 1 draw and 16 defeats in the 2016–17 Hong Kong Premier League, which secured their position in the top flight for the next season.
In June 2017, R&F was allowed to move their home matches to Yanzigang Stadium in Guangzhou after previously using Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground as their stadium. They were permitted to register three foreigners for the 2017–18 Hong Kong Premier League season.[2] R&F signed Brazilian Giovane from Eastern as well as four naturalized Hong Kong players Vas Núñez, Roberto, Itaparica and Godfred Karikari in their squad, hoping to be a more competitive team.[3]
After another disappointing season, R&F abandoned their mission of training Guangzhou City's reserve players. Starting with the 2018–19 season, the club's budget was increased to HK$50 million and the squad was composed mainly of Hong Kong players.[4] Chairman Huang Shenghua claimed that the club's goal was to win at least one trophy in the season and applied for full membership within the HKFA in order to represent Hong Kong in Asian Football Confederation club competitions.[5] The club finished as runners-up, five points behind Tai Po.
On 28 June 2019, it was confirmed that the HKFA had accepted R&F's proposal to follow the same registration rules as other HKPL clubs.[6] This moved meant that R&F could now register up to seven foreigners, while Chinese passport holders would no longer qualify as local players.
After 4 years in the HKPL, R&F officially announced that they would withdraw from the league on 14 October 2020.[7]
Honours
[edit]League
[edit]- Runners-up (1): 2018–19
Results
[edit]All-time league rankings
[edit]- As of 11 October 2020[8]
| Year | Div | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos. | FA Cup | Senior Challenge Shield | Sapling Cup | Att./G | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 53 | -40 | 10 | 10 | R1 | R1 | R2 | 207 | Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground |
| 2017–18 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 27 | 35 | -8 | 22 | 7 | R1 | R1 | Group stage | 797 | Yanzigang Stadium |
| 2018–19 | 1 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 51 | 26 | 25 | 36 | 2 | QF | SF | Group stage | 707 | Yanzigang Stadium |
| 2019–20 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 18 | 3 | Runner-up | SF | Group stage | 388 | Yanzigang Stadium |
Managerial history
[edit]- As of 11 October 2020
| # | Name | Period | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win% | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Li Zhihai
|
July 2016 – May 2017 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 14 | 62 | −48 | 13.04 | |
| 2 |  Marek Zając
|
June 2017 – 12 March 2018 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 33.33 | |
| 3 | Bito Wu
|
12 March 2018 – 3 June 2018 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 33.33 | |
| 4 |  Yeung Ching Kwong
|
14 June 2018 – 14 October 2020 | 52 | 29 | 9 | 14 | 134 | 74 | +60 | 55.77 |
Past and present internationals
[edit]Names in bold indicate players who had international appearances for their countries while playing for R&F.[9]
- Adama Guira (2019–2020)
- Wu Weian (2018–2019)
- Chuck Yiu Kwok (2016–2017)
- Roberto (2017–2020)
- Giovane (2017–2020)
- Itaparica (2017–2019)
- Godfred Karikari (2018–2019)
- Bai He (2018–2020)
- Leung Nok Hang (2018–2020)
- Lo Kong Wai (2018–2020)
- Lo Kwan Yee (2018–2020)
- Paulinho (2018–2019)
- Tan Chun Lok (2018–2019)
- Fong Pak Lun (2019–2020)
- Lam Ka Wai (2020)
- Tsui Wang Kit (2020)
- Fung Hing Wa (2020)
- Emmerson (2019)
- Daniel Angulo (2020)
References
[edit]- ^ "港超聯 足總董事會拍板 東方無緣亞洲賽". hk.on.cc. Oriental Press Group Limited. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ "富力将战港超预备队联赛". Netease. Guangzhou News. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ "R&F富力 重装出征港超". Netease. Nanfang News. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ Chan, Kin Wa (10 June 2019). "Footballer of the year Igor Sartori's switch to R&F Hong Kong from champions Tai Po confirmed". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ "富力R&F:"争取两年后参加亚冠"". Information Times. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ Gao, Si Kei (28 June 2019). "貝鈞奇自動當選主席 富力來季盡用外援主場未定". HK01. Retrieved 28 June 2019. (in Chinese)
- ^ 港超︱富力R&F落實棄戰港超 稱退出因現時香港足球氛圍 Ming Pao 14 October 2020
- ^ "R&F FC (HONG KONG) Statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ "R&F FC". national-football-teams.com.
External links
[edit]- Club profile at HKFA