# 2013–14 Hong Kong First Division League

The 2013–14 Hong Kong First Division League, officially named 2013–14 HKFA RedMR Hong Kong First Division League due to sponsorship reasons, is the 102nd season of the First Division League since its establishment. It will be a transition season before the new Premier League gets under way in autumn 2014. Therefore, this is also the last ever First Division that is the top division in the Hong Kong football league system.
South China are the defending champions, having won the First Division title in the previous season.
The season will start on 30 August 2013. League fixtures were announced on 14 August 2013.
On 11 February 2014, the Hong Kong Football Association concluded that Tuen Mun and Happy Valley failed to provide evidence to demonstrate that they are viable football clubs in terms of governance arrangements and financial sustainability. All of their remaining matches are suspended for the remainder of the season. Two days later, the HKFA announced that the results of all of the matches played by the two clubs this season will not be included in the league table. Goals scored in the matches will not be counted. However, where the matches have involved disciplinary sanctions, i.e. yellow cards and red cards, etc., these will remain on record. Furthermore, HKFA has confirmed that none of the remaining 10 teams playing matches in the 1st Division will be relegated at the end of the 2013/14 season in the same report.
On 5 April 2014, Kitchee secured their sixth First Division title after they beat Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei and South China failed to take a win from Royal Southern.

## Teams

A total of 12 teams will contest the league, including nine sides from the 2012–13 season and three promoted from the 2012–13 Hong Kong Second Division League.

### Stadia and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Stadium | Location | Capacity |
| Rangers | Sham Shui Po Sports Ground | Sham Shui Po | 2,194 |
| Citizen | Tsing Yi Sports Ground | Tsing Yi | 1,500 |
| Eastern | Shing Mun Valley Sports Ground | Tsuen Wan | 5,000 |
| Happy Valley | Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground Tai Po Sports Ground$^1$ | Siu Sai Wan Tai Po | 12,000 3,000 |
| Yuen Long | Yuen Long Stadium | Yuen Long | 4,932 |
| Kitchee | Mong Kok Stadium | Mong Kok | 6,680 |
| Southern | Aberdeen Sports Ground | Aberdeen | 4,000$^2$ |
| South China | Hong Kong Stadium | So Kon Po | 40,000 |
| Sun Hei | Tsing Yi Sports Ground | Tsing Yi | 1,500 |
| Sun Pegasus | Mong Kok Stadium | Mong Kok | 6,680 |
| Tuen Mun | Tuen Mun Tang Shiu Kin Sports Ground | Tuen Mun | 2,200 |
| Yokohama FC (HK) | Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground | Tseung Kwan O | 3,500$^3$ |
Remarks : $^1$ As Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground will undergo renovation during the season, it will not be used for football matches within the construction period. Home matches of Happy Valley during the period will be played at Tai Po Sports Ground. $^2$ The capacity of Aberdeen Sports Ground is 9,000, but only the 4,000-seater main stand is opened for football matches. $^3$ The capacity of Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground is 3,500, but it can be expended to 5,000 if the temporary stand is opened.

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Rangers | Mok Yiu Keung | José Ricardo Rambo | Leung Hing Kit | Xtep | Lee & Man Paper |
| Citizen | Pui Kwan Kay | Chu Kwok Kuen | Festus Baise | Jako | Rasonic |
| Eastern | Lam Kin Ming | Cristiano Cordeiro | Wong Chun Yue | Adidas | ECSAF |
| Happy Valley | Kwong Hiu Ming | Paul Foster | Li Chun Yip | UCAN | CANSHOW |
| Yuen Long | Wong Wai Shun | Chan Ho Yin | Fábio Lopes | Nike | Wong & Poon Solicitors |
| Kitchee | Ken Ng | Cheng Siu Chung Chu Chi Kwong | Chu Siu Kei | Nike | TBC |
| Southern | Wong Ling Sun | Fung Hoi Man | Rubén López | Nike | Royal Sauna Spa |
| South China | Steven Lo | Yeung Ching Kwong | Chan Wai Ho | Adidas | Panasonic |
| Sun Hei | Chow Man Leung | Chan Fat Chi | Roberto | Adidas | Sunray Cave |
| Sun Pegasus | Cheng Ting Kong | Chan Chi Hong | Jaimes McKee | Adidas | Yahoo |
| Tuen Mun | Lau Wong Fat | Yan Lik Kin | Ling Cong | Kappa | Hong Kong Motor Inspection |
| Yokohama FC (HK) | Hiroshi Onodera | Lee Chi Kin | Tsuyoshi Yoshitake | Nike | LEOC |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Kitchee | Josep Gombau | Signed by Adelaide United | 30 April 2013 | Pre-season | Àlex Gómez | 21 May 2013 |
| South China | Liu Chun Fai | End of contract | 20 June 2013 | Pre-season | Cheung Po Chun | 1 July 2013 |
| Rangers | Chan Hung Ping | Returned as assistant coach | 30 June 2013 | Pre-season | José Ricardo Rambo | 6 July 2013 |
| Happy Valley | Sergio Timoner | Promoted as Technical Director | 8 October 2013 | 12th | Paul Foster | 8 October 2013 |
| Eastern | Lee Kin Wo | Promoted as Vice Director | 10 October 2013 | 5th | Cristiano Cordeiro | 10 October 2013 |
| Kitchee | Àlex Gómez | Resigned | 14 November 2013 | 1st | Cheng Siu Chung Chu Chi Kwong | 14 November 2013 |
| South China | Cheung Po Chun | Mutual Consent | 17 February 2014 | 2nd | Yeung Ching Kwong | 17 February 2014 |

### Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to seven (including an Asian player) per team, with no more than five on pitch during matches.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Asian Player |
| Rangers | Luciano Silva | Tomas Maronesi | Tales Schütz | Miroslav Saric | Joel | Iván Zarandona | |
| Citizen | Fernando | Paulinho Piracicaba | Hélio | Marko Krasić | Stefan Pereira | Tino Lagator | Yuto Nakamura |
| Eastern | Paulo César | Diego Eli | Clayton Afonso | Itaparica | Beto Fronza | Giovane Silva | Dylan Macallister |
| Yuen Long | Fábio Lopes | Gustavo Silva | Sandro | Čedomir Mijanović | Wellingsson de Souza | | Yuki Fujimoto |
| Kitchee | Fernando Recio | Dani Cancela | Jordi Tarrés | Juan Belencoso | Diego Cascón | Alex Akande | Jang Kyung-Jin |
| Southern | Rubén López | Dieguito | Yago González | Héctor Granado | Jonathan Carril | Jose Maria Diaz Munoz | |
| South China | Ticão | Dhiego Martins | João Emir | Vincent Weijl | Saša Kajkut | Andrew Barisić | Ko Kyung-Joon |
| Sun Pegasus | Eugene Mbome | Paulo Cesar | Igor Miović | Admir Raščić | Josip Škorić | Aleksandar Ranđelović | Marko Jesic |
| Sun Hei | Roberto Júnior | Jean-Jacques Kilama | Yrel Bouet | Mirko Teodorović | Michel Lugo | Reinaldo de Morais Peres | Zhang Jun |
| Yokohama FC (HK) | Kenji Fukuda | Taiki Murai | Tsuyoshi Yoshitake | Masaaki Ideguchi | | | Park Tae-Hong |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kitchee (C) | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 12 | +35 | 48 | 2015 AFC Champions League play-off stage |
| 2 | Sun Pegasus | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 40 | 28 | +12 | 32 | 2013–14 Hong Kong season play-off |
| 3 | South China | 18 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 32 | 2015 AFC Cup |
| 4 | Royal Southern (R) | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 32 | −7 | 21 | 2013–14 Hong Kong season play-off and relegation to 2014–15 Hong Kong First Division League |
| 5 | Hong Kong Rangers | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 32 | −9 | 21 | |
| 6 | Eastern Salon | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 37 | −3 | 21 | 2013–14 Hong Kong season play-off |
| 7 | I-Sky Yuen Long | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 33 | −8 | 20 | |
| 8 | Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei (R) | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 41 | −9 | 19 | Relegation to 2014–15 Hong Kong First Division League |
| 9 | Citizen (R) | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 33 | −8 | 18 | Relegation to 2014–15 Hong Kong First Division League |
| 10 | Yokohama FC Hong Kong | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 25 | 39 | −14 | 13 | |
| 11 | Happy Valley (D, R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excluded, record expunged Relegation to 2014–15 Hong Kong First Division League |
| 12 | Tuen Mun (D, R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Excluded, record expunged Relegation to 2014–15 Hong Kong First Division League |
* ↑ South China won the 2013–14 Hong Kong season play-off and thus qualified for the 2015 AFC Cup group stage.
* ↑ Since the 2013–14 Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield winners (South China) would at this point qualify for the 2013–14 Hong Kong season play-off, the 4th placed team would qualify for the Season Play-off. At the same time, Royal Southern declined to participate in the 2014–15 Hong Kong Premier League and would self-relegate in the following season.
* ↑ Eastern Salon qualified for the 2013–14 Hong Kong season play-off as winners of the 2013–14 Hong Kong FA Cup.
* ↑ Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei & Citizen declined to participate in the 2014–15 Hong Kong Premier League and would self-relegate in the following season.
* ↑ On 13 February 2014, the HKFA announced that as a result of a match-fixing investigation, both Tuen Mun and Happy Valley would be excluded from the league, and their records would be expunged.

### Positions by round

To preserve the chronological order of events, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 7, but then played between rounds 8 and 9, it will be added to the standings for round 8.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Hong Kong Rangers | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | | | 5 |
| Citizen | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | | | 9 |
| Eastern Salon | 7 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | | | 6 |
| Happy Valley | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| I-Sky Yuen Long | 4 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | | | 7 |
| Kitchee | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Royal Southern | 11 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | | | 4 |
| South China | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | | | 3 |
| Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei | 12 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | | | 8 |
| Sun Pegasus | 9 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | | | 2 |
| Tuen Mun | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Yokohama FC Hong Kong | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | | | 10 |
* Leader; 2015 AFC Cup group stage
* 2013–14 Hong Kong season play-off
* Relegation to 2014–15 Hong Kong Second Division League

## Results

| Home \ Away | HKR | CIT | EAA | IYL | KIT | SOU | SCA | SUN | SPS | YHK |
| Hong Kong Rangers | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 |
| Citizen | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 3–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Eastern Salon | 3–4 | 2–2 | | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 2–0 |
| I-Sky Yuen Long | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 3–1 |
| Kitchee | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | | 4–0 | 1–1 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| Royal Southern | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| South China | 2–0 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 |
| Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Sun Pegasus | 1–0 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 5–3 | 1–3 | | 2–0 |
| Yokohama FC Hong Kong | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Giovane Silva | Eastern Salon | 12 |
| 1 | Admir Raščić | Sun Pegasus | 12 |
| 3 | Wellingsson de Souza | I-Sky Yuen Long | 11 |
| 3 | Juan Belencoso | Kitchee | 11 |
| 3 | Kenji Fukuda | Yokohama FC Hong Kong | 11 |
| 6 | Jordi Tarrés | Kitchee | 7 |
| 7 | Jonathan Carril | Southern | 6 |
| 7 | Michel Lugo | Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei | 6 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Giovane Alves da Silva | Eastern Salon | Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei | 4–2 | 22 March 2014 |
The followings are not counted as matches involving Tuen Mun or Happy Valley are voided.
| Admir Raščić | Sun Pegasus | Tuen Mun | 6–0 | 26 October 2013 |
| Jonathan Carril | Royal Southern | Happy Valley | 4–2 | 30 November 2013 |
| Juan Belencoso | Kitchee | Tuen Mun | 5–0 | 30 November 2013 |