Kwong Wah Athletic Association () are a

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 that currently playing in the Hong Kong Second Division. The team's home matches are played throughout Hong Kong.

History

Kwong Wah were formed in 1936 by a group of coworkers at

CLP Group CLP Group () and its holding company, CLP Holdings Ltd (), also known as China Light and Power Company, Limited (now CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd., ), is an electricity company in Hong Kong. Incorporated in 1901 as China Light & Power Company Syndi ...

. Among them, there were local and foreign players including future star Hau Yung Seng. The year after their formation, they won the 1937–38

Hong Kong Junior Shield Hong Kong Junior Shield () was a football competition in Hong Kong established in 1922. All teams in the Second Division and the Third Division were included in the competition. South China was the most successful club, winning 9 titles. Hist ...

as well as promotion into the Hong Kong Second Division. The club reached the Hong Kong First Division in 1947. For two for their first three seasons in the top flight, Kwong Wah finished at the bottom of the table but because there was no relegation during that time, they remained. In the early 1950s, Kwong Wah were sponsored by Shanghai businessmen including Xu Wenkui. They signed a number of Shanghai-based players to help the squad such as Zhang Jinhai, Wu Qixiang, Chen Mingzhe, Luo Shoufu, and Yan Shixin. During their 18-year stay in the First Division, their highest table finish was fourth place achieved during the 1963–64 season. The club won one trophy over that run, capturing the 1962–63

Hong Kong Senior Shield The Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield (), known commonly as the Senior Shield, is the football knockout inter-club competition held in Hong Kong and the fourth oldest football tournament in Asia. Traditionally, only the teams in the Hong Kong Pr ...

over

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

. Alas, a last place finish in the 1965–66 doomed the club for relegation. Kwong Wah would spend the next seven seasons in the Second Division until a runners up finish during the 1972–73 season helped the club to achieve promotion back into the First Division. They were led at that time by former Criminal Investigation Department director Yan Hung who purchased star keeper Ho Yung Hing the following season to strengthen the squad. Their stay lasted four seasons until the club finished second bottom of the table in 1976–77 and were relegated once again. In 1990–91, the club finished second bottom in the Second Division and were relegated to the Hong Kong Third A Division. Due to a merger of the two Third Division leagues by 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 ...

, Kwong Wah began the 2012–13 season in the Hong Kong Fourth Division. Thanks to a third-place finish, they were able to gain promotion back into the Third Division after just one season. The club finished 10th in the 2016–17 season, narrowly escaping relegation to the Third Division based on winning the head-to-head tiebreaker against

Kwok Keung "Guo", written in Chinese: 郭, is one of the most common Chinese surnames and means "the wall that surrounds a city" in Chinese. It can also be transliterated into English as Cok, Gou, Quo, Quach, Quek, Que, Keh, Kuo, Kwo, Kuoch, Kok, Koc, ...

Honours

League

* Hong Kong Second Division : Runners-up (1): 1972–73

Cup competitions

: Champions (1): 1962–63 *

: Champions (1): 1937–38

References

External links

Kwong Wah
at HKFA {{Hong Kong Second Division League teamlist Football clubs in Hong Kong Association football clubs established in 1936 Hong Kong Second Division League