# 2016–17 Hong Kong Premier League

2016–17 Hong Kong Premier League (also known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 3rd season of Hong Kong Premier League, the top division of Hong Kong football. The season was won by Kitchee. Kitchee forward Sandro was the top goalscorer with 21 goals. South China and HKFC were relegated to the Hong Kong First Division.

## Teams

A total of 11 teams will contest the league, including seven sides from the 2015–16 Hong Kong Premier League, two promoted from the 2015–16 Hong Kong First Division League and two new teams.

### Stadia and locations

Primary venues used in the Hong Kong Premier League:
| Eastern Kitchee | South China | Southern | Pegasus |
| Mong Kok Stadium | Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground | Aberdeen Sports Ground | Hong Kong Stadium |
| Capacity: 6,664 | Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 4,000 | Capacity: 40,000 |
| Yuen Long | Rangers | Tai Po | HKFC |
| Yuen Long Stadium | Tsing Yi Sports Ground | Tai Po Sports Ground | HKFC Stadium |
| Capacity: 5,000 | Capacity: 1,500 | Capacity: 3,200 | Capacity: 2,750 |
| Biu Chun Glory Sky | R&F | | |
| Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground | Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground | | |
| Capacity: 2,200 | Capacity: 11,981 | | |
Remarks: $^1$The capacity of Aberdeen Sports Ground reduces from 9,000 to 4,000 as only the main stand is opened for football matches.

### Personnel and Kits

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Biu Chun Glory Sky | Brian Leung | Yoon Dong-hun | Mirko Teodorović | Kelme | Glory Sky Finance |
| Eastern | Peter Leung | Chan Yuen-ting | Yapp Hung Fai | Adidas | SMI Corporation |
| HKFC | Tony Sealy | Richard Ewart | Gergely Ghéczy | Adidas | The Executive Center (Front) |
| Pegasus | Canny Leung | Kevin Bond | Kristijan Naumovski | Adidas | ZTE |
| Kitchee | Ken Ng | Chu Chi Kwong | Lo Kwan Yee | Nike | Jockey Club Kitchee Centre (Front) WWF (Shorts) |
| Rangers | Fung Ka Ki | Lam Hing Lun | Jordi Tarrés | Xtep | Lee & Man Chemical |
| Southern | Chan Man Chun | Cheng Siu Chung | Leung Tsz Chun | Nike | Isuzu (Front) Kwoon Chung Motors (Back) |
| South China | Wallace Cheung | Dejan Antonić | Chan Wai Ho | Adidas | AET (Front) |
| Tai Po | Cheung Hok-ming | Lee Chi Kin | Chan Yuk Chi | Nike | Lee Kee Group (Back) |
| Yuen Long | Wong Wai Shun | Tsang Chiu Tat | Fábio Lopes | Lotto | KMB (Front) |
| R&F | Huang Shenghua | Li Zhihai | Tu Dongxu | Xtep | R&F Princess Cove (Front) |

### Managerial Changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Biu Chun Glory Sky | Chiu Chung Man | Promoted as General Manager | 4 October 2016 | 7th | Yoon Dong-hun | 4 October 2016 |
| South China | Ricardo | Return as Coach | 25 October 2016 | 4th | Dejan Antonić | 31 October 2016 |
| Pegasus | Steve Gallen | Mutual consent | 3 November 2016 | 4th | Kevin Bond | 7 November 2016 |

### Foreign Players

The number of foreign players is restricted to six (including an Asian player) per team, with no more than four on pitch during matches. Non-Chinese/Hong Kong player could not be registered in R&F as one of the participating conditions of the China-based club. Moreover, R&F need to have at least eight Hong Kong players in the squad.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Asian Player |
| Biu Chun Glory Sky | Mirko Teodorović | Everton Camargo | Igor Miović | Oleksiy Shlyakotin | Lee Kil-hoon | Yoon Dong-hun |
| Eastern | Manuel Bleda | Diego Eli | Michel Lugo | Giovane | Miroslav Saric | Josh Mitchell |
| HKFC | Jerome De Clarens | Gergely Ghéczy | Andrew Wylde | Thomas Smith | Issey Maholo | Shunsuke Nakamura |
| Pegasus | Dhiego Martins | Eduardo Praes | João Emir | Kristijan Naumovski | Salva Chamorro | Travis Major |
| Kitchee | Fernando | Dani | Rufino | Krisztián Vadócz | Kim Dong-jin | Kim Bong-jin |
| Rangers | Fernando Recio | Jordi Tarrés | Clayton | Denis | Berg | Gee Kyung-hun |
| Southern | Tomas | Wellingsson | Diego Garrido | Dieguito | Marcos Jiménez | Tomoya Uchida |
| South China | Luiz Carlos | Mahama Awal | Bojan Mališić | Nikola Komazec | Marko Perović | Yusuke Kato |
| Tai Po | Paulo César | Lucas Silva | Dudu | Lima | David Lazari | Yuto Nakamura |
| Yuen Long | Stefan | Luciano Silva | Diego Higino | Aleksandar Ranđelović | Ticão | |
| Club | HK Player 1 | HK Player 2 | HK Player 3 | HK Player 4 | HK Player 5 | HK Player 6 | HK Player 7 | HK Player 8 |
| R&F | Chuck Yiu Kwok | Liang Zicheng | Tsang Kin Fong | Jing Teng | Lam Wan Kit | Lau Tak Yan | Chen Liming | Lam Hin Ting |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kitchee (C) | 20 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 54 | 8 | +46 | 51 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Eastern | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 60 | 25 | +35 | 49 | Qualification to Champions League preliminary round 2 and season play-off |
| 3 | Southern | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 48 | 21 | +27 | 36 | Qualification to season play-off |
| 4 | South China (R) | 20 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 34 | 26 | +8 | 35 | Qualification to season play-off and relegation to First Division |
| 5 | Yuen Long | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 31 | Qualification to season play-off |
| 6 | Tai Po | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 31 | |
| 7 | Rangers | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 33 | −2 | 26 | |
| 8 | Pegasus | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 26 | |
| 9 | Biu Chun Glory Sky | 20 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 24 | 55 | −31 | 10 | |
| 10 | R&F | 20 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 53 | −40 | 10 | |
| 11 | HKFC (R) | 20 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 13 | 77 | −64 | 6 | Relegation to First Division |
* ↑ South China did not apply for the next season's Hong Kong Premier League Licence.

## 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 |
| Kitchee | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Eastern | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Southern | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| South China | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Yuen Long | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Tai Po | 9 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Rangers | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Pegasus | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Biu Chun Glory Sky | 8 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| R&F | 7 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| HKFC | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
* Leader - 2018 AFC Champions League group stage
* Relegation to 2017–18 Hong Kong First Division League

## Results

| Home \ Away | BGS | EAS | CLU | PEG | KCS | KIT | LMR | SCA | TPO | YLF | R&F |
| Biu Chun Glory Sky | | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 2–3 | 2–0 |
| Eastern | 6–2 | | 7–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 6–1 |
| HKFC | 1–4 | 0–4 | | 0–1 | 0–6 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–6 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–4 |
| Pegasus | 2–1 | 3–5 | 5–0 | | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Southern | 6–0 | 1–3 | 7–0 | 4–3 | | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| Kitchee | 0–0 | 0–0 | 10–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 |
| Rangers | 5–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| South China | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 | | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Tai Po | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Yuen Long | 4–0 | 1–2 | 6–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | | 4–0 |
| R&F | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | |

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top Scorer

    As of match played 6 May 2017
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Sandro | Kitchee | 21 |
| 2 | Manuel Bleda | Eastern | 16 |
| 3 | Nikola Komazec | South China | 13 |
| 3 | Jordi Tarrés | Rangers | 13 |
| 5 | Lucas Silva | Tai Po | 11 |
| 6 | Giovane | Eastern | 10 |
| 6 | Everton | Biu Chun Glory Sky | 10 |
| 8 | Rufino | Kitchee | 9 |
| 8 | Marcos | Southern | 9 |
| 10 | Lee Hong Lim | Eastern | 8 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Wellingsson | Southern | HKFC | 7-0 | 22 October 2016 |
| Manuel Bleda$^4$ | Eastern | Biu Chun Glory Sky | 6-2 | 2 November 2016 |
| Stefan Pereira | Yuen Long | Biu Chun Glory Sky | 4–0 | 19 November 2016 |
| Everton Camargo | Biu Chun Glory Sky | HKFA | 4–1 | 17 March 2017 |
| Sandro | Kitchee | Rangers | 5–1 | 19 March 2017 |
| Marcos | Southern | R&F | 5–0 | 1 April 2017 |
| Giovane | Eastern | Pegasus | 5–3 | 1 April 2017 |
| Rufino | Kitchee | Biu Chun Glory Sky | 5–1 | 2 April 2017 |
| Rufino | Kitchee | HKFC | 10–0 | 7 April 2017 |
| Sandro | Kitchee | HKFC | 10–0 | 7 April 2017 |
| Jordi | Rangers | Eastern | 3–3 | 8 April 2017 |
| Sandro | Kitchee | Eastern | 4–1 | 6 May 2017 |
| Lucas | Tai Po | Biu Chun Glory Sky | 3–3 | 6 May 2017 |
* $^4$ Player scored 4 goals

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Eastern | 19,227 | 6,413 | 682 | 1,923 | +0.8%$^†$ |
| 2 | Kitchee | 18,498 | 3,863 | 744 | 1,850 | +16.1%$^†$ |
| 3 | Yuen Long | 13,951 | 2,019 | 592 | 1,395 | +29.6%$^†$ |
| 4 | South China | 13,529 | 3,283 | 346 | 1,353 | +18.9%$^†$ |
| 5 | Tai Po | 7,642 | 1,474 | 421 | 764 | n/a$^1$ |
| 6 | Pegasus | 7,235 | 1,507 | 249 | 724 | −26.2%$^†$ |
| 7 | Southern | 5,322 | 1,167 | 236 | 532 | +8.8%$^†$ |
| 8 | Rangers | 5,190 | 1,171 | 215 | 519 | +8.8%$^†$ |
| 9 | Biu Chun Glory Sky | 4,595 | 746 | 230 | 460 | n/a$^1$ |
| 10 | HKFC | 3,867 | 669 | 292 | 387 | n/a$^1$ |
| 11 | R&F | 2,066 | 361 | 100 | 207 | n/a$^1$ |
| | League total | 101,122 | 6,413 | 100 | 919 | −9.8%$^†$ |
Source: Soccerway Notes: 1: Team did not play last season in the Premier League

## Hong Kong Top Footballer Awards

| Awards | Prize Winner | Club | Votes |
| Footballer of the Year | Fernando | Kitchee | 75.95% |
| Coach of the Year | Chu Chi Kwong | Kitchee | 53.68% |
| Young Players of the Year | Tan Chun Lok | Tai Po | 67.18% |
| Young Players of the Year | Wong Tsz Ho | Eastern | 47.50% |
| Players' Player | Fernando | Kitchee | 25 |
| Most Favorite Player | Fernando | Kitchee | 2,429 |
| Hong Kong Top Footballers ||||
| Goalkeeper | Yapp Hung Fai | Eastern | 41.13% |
| Defenders | Kim Bong-jin | Kitchee | 67.18% |
| Defenders | Hélio | Kitchee | 52.33% |
| Defenders | Beto Júnior | Eastern | 37.86% |
| Defenders | Wong Tsz Ho | Eastern | 36.13% |
| Midfielders | Fernando | Kitchee | 75.95% |
| Midfielders | Huang Yang | Kitchee | 49.79% |
| Midfielders | Diego Eli | Eastern | 37.05% |
| Midfielders | Itaparica | Tai Po | 30.76% |
| Forwards | Sandro | Kitchee | 57.69% |
| Forwards | Manuel Bleda | Eastern | 40.58% |