Hong Kong Sapling Football Club () are a Hong Kong
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club which does not currently compete in the
Hong Kong football league
The Hong Kong First Division League () is the second-highest division in the Hong Kong football league system. Established in 1908, it is the third oldest in Asia. The league was formerly the highest division in Hong Kong until the formation o ...
system.
History
On 11 August 2011,
Mutual withdrew from the
Hong Kong First Division League
The Hong Kong First Division League () is the second-highest division in the Hong Kong football league system. Established in 1908, it is the third oldest in Asia. The league was formerly the highest division in Hong Kong until the formation o ...
due to financial problems. The
Hong Kong Football Association
The Hong Kong Football Association Limited (), often abbreviated to the HKFA, is the governing body of association football in Hong Kong. Its current chairman is Pui Kwan Kay and its Chief Executive Officer is Joaquin Tam.
History
The HKFA was ...
then decided to form a team for training youngsters for the
2013 East Asian Games, as well as to replace Mutual. The club was named as Hong Kong Sapling, but was dissolved in 2012.
In the run up to the
2016–17 season,
Metro Gallery were forced to voluntarily relegate to the First Division due to financial difficulties. Hong Kong Sapling were reformed in order to fill the void left by Metro Gallery and were able to secure funding from two sponsors, Biu Chun and GlorySky Group, competing under the name Biu Chun Glory Sky until the end of the season.
In the summer of 2017, the club was taken over by former
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
board member Ryan Yeung and the club were renamed as Dreams FC.
During the latter part of the
2018–19 season, Dreams ran into financial arrears and it appeared that their future in the HKPL was uncertain. Despite this, CEO Leung Chi Kui issued a statement claiming that the club had retained two thirds of their players and would continue to participate in the
2019–20 season. However, on 11 July 2019, Dreams decided to self-relegate due to lack of funds, citing an inability to fulfill a requirement by the HKFA for each HKPL club to submit a seven figure deposit ahead of the season. However, HKFA disputed the claim entirely the next day via press release.
In the
2019–20 season, the club were renamed as King Fung.
On 16 November 2020, the club confirmed that they would withdraw from local competitions for two seasons following a
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
imposed transfer ban on the club. The ban came as a result of a successful arbitration case by former player
Joaquín
Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim.
Given name
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger
* Joaquín (footballer, born 1982 ...
who had sued the club for salary arrears during the 2018–19 season. In addition, FIFA demanded that the club pay $800,000 HKD in compensation to Joaquín.
[ ]
Name history
*2011–2012: Hong Kong Sapling (港菁)
*2016–2017: Biu Chun Glory Sky (標準灝天)
*2017–2019: Dreams FC (夢想FC)
*2019–present: King Fung (景峰)
References
Football clubs in Hong Kong
Association football clubs established in 2011
2011 establishments in Hong Kong
2012 disestablishments in Hong Kong
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