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Seven Singaporeans caused a sensation in Hong Kong Football in 1950s

The arrival of Singaporean footballers in Hong Kong (credit: Hong Kong Football History Society)

Recently after some inquiries, I received these old newspaper clippings from the administrator of Hong Kong Football History Society, a Facebook Page which specialized in the history of Hong Kong football.

It came after a few years ago when I posted some details on this blog's Facebook page that briefly described back in the 1950s, seven Singaporean footballers** were being invited by Kitchee Sports Club to play for them on a two-month stint, a information cited from this Facebook posting in Mandarin, in Hong Kong First Division - a feat that caused quite a sensation back in those days.

Based on what was mentioned in those clippings, I managed to single out names like custodian Chu Chee Seng, Foo Hee Jong, Ho Hin Weng, and the legendary striker Awang Bakar who was referred to as "Tong Wong" (唐旺) in Cantonese pronunciation.

The report detailed the players' arrival in HK (credit: Hong Kong Football History Society)

ARRIVAL IN HONG KONG

The above clipping reported the Singapore contingent arrived in Hong Kong at 4.15pm at Kai Tak Airport on the 6th of November 1950 before they were ushered to their accommodation followed by a welcome dinner hosted by Kitchee officials on the same evening.

It added local fans (in Hong Kong) wouldn't find players like Chu unfamiliar as he and Tan Kai Sow played in the then British colony before while added Chu was an Olympian (representing the Republic of China) in the 1948 London Games.

The late Awang Bakar was described as "Malayan number one striker" known for his "agility and confidence in taking shots at goal".

"The Singapore contingent will make their debut for Kitchee this week by cruising across (Victoria Harbour) to take on (Kowloon Motor) Bus (one of the powerhouses in Hong Kong football during that era)." wrote the report which also revealed the seven players "will have their first training session on Thursday in order to allow tactical planning for the coming match".

The same report lauded the signing of these Singaporean footballers by Kitchee as a masterstroke and opined that "should they be able to defeat (Kowloon Motor) Bus, the future will look bright for the team."

Introduction of players (credit: Hong Kong Football History Society)

南洋商报 reported the Singaporeans' HK venture (NLB archive)

MISTAKE BY NANYANG SIANG PAU

Singapore's Nanyang Siang Pau (南洋商报) did report the news of the Singapore contingent heading up to Hong Kong in their 25th October 1950 edition but the snippet stated they were going to play for Sing Tao Sports Club (星島足球隊) instead Kitchee.

This was never the case, it was believed the confusion derived from the fact that the stint was arranged by media magnate Aw Hoe who was the owner of Sing Tao and Kitchee soccer convenor during that post-war period.

Many thanks to the administrator of the Hong Kong Football History Society for the help rendered in making this entry possible.

(** Technically speaking one of the seven players - Tan Kai Sow (陳家壽) was hailed from Selangor and played for both Selangor and Negri Sembilan between the period of late 1940s and early 1950s. It was later revealed by Hong Kong football legend Cheung Chi Doy that Tan hung up his boots in 1963 and settled down in Hong Kong)

(Note 1: Some images in this entry were reproduced from online sources, as credited, should anyone feel it's inappropriate to have any of the media shown, please kindly email me as soon as possible and I will remove them upon request.)

(Note 2: I stand to be corrected should there be any mistake in this entry, please feel free to email me if there is, thanks)


(Note 3: After verifying with available sources, the year in which the Singaporeans played for Kitchee was 1950 instead of 1952)

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