# 2020–21 Hong Kong Premier League

The 2020–21 Hong Kong Premier League (also known as the BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the 7th season of the Hong Kong Premier League, the top division of Hong Kong football.

## Effects of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Football Association postponed the opening of the 2020–21 season. Later, it was announced that the season would begin on 21 November 2020. The league was suspended again after two rounds being played due to the third wave of coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong. On 12 February 2021, the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department approved to resume football competitions in Hong Kong after February 20 behind closed doors. The Senior Shied and FA Cup were cancelled, while the ongoing Sapling Cup would continue.

## Teams

A total of eight teams contest the league, including seven sides from the 2019–20 Hong Kong Premier League and one promoted from the 2019–20 Hong Kong First Division. Tai Po and Yuen Long decided to self-relegate to the Hong Kong First Division due to lack of funds. Meanwhile, R&F decided to withdraw from the league system.
| Club | Founded | Position Last Season |
| Kitchee | 1931 | 1st |
| Eastern | 1932 | 2nd |
| Lee Man | 2017 | 4th |
| Southern | 2002 | 5th |
| Happy Valley | 1950 | 6th |
| Pegasus | 2008 | Withdrew |
| Rangers | 1958 | Withdrew |
| Resources Capital | 1982 | 1st in First Division (before cancellation) |
* Pink denotes a newly promoted club entering the league this year.

### Stadia and locations

Primary venues used in the Hong Kong Premier League:
| Kitchee Eastern | Happy Valley | Lee Man | Resources Capital |
| Mong Kok Stadium | Sham Shui Po Sports Ground | Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground | Tsing Yi Sports Ground |
| Capacity: 6,664 | Capacity: 2,194 | Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 1,500 |
| Rangers | Pegasus | Southern |
| Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground | Yuen Long Stadium | Aberdeen Sports Ground |
| Capacity: 2,200 | Capacity: 4,932 | Capacity: 4,000 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Main sponsor |
| Eastern | Lam Kin Ming | Roberto Losada | Leung Chun Pong | Adidas | Upbest Group |
| Happy Valley | Chen Zhishi | Pau Ka Yiu | Luciano | Adidas | Michi |
| Kitchee | Ken Ng | Chu Chi Kwong | Huang Yang | Nike | EDPS Systems Ltd. |
| Pegasus | Steven Lo | Kwok Kar Lok | Leung Hing Kit | Adidas | RedMR |
| Lee Man | Norman Lee | Chan Hiu Ming | Fernando Recio | Adidas | Lee & Man Chemical |
| Rangers | Peter Mok | Chiu Chung Man Wong Chin Hung Lai Ka Fai | Lam Ka Wai | Kelme Ucan | Hong Kong Amateur Football Association |
| Southern | Matthew Wong | Zesh Rehman | Shu Sasaki | Macron | Isuzu |
| Resources Capital | Hanson Wong | Joan Esteva | Lam Chun Kit Law Ho Yin Liu Yik Shing Carles Tena | | Future Hong Kong Football Development Charity Limited |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Pegasus | Man Pei Tak | Change of Role | 20 October 2020 | Pre-season | Kwok Kar Lok | 20 October 2020 |
| Eastern | Lee Chi Kin | Change of Role | 28 May 2021 | 2nd | Roberto Losada | 28 May 2021 |

### Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to six per team, with no more than five on the pitch during matches, the fifth player must be a marquee player.
According to the decision made by Hong Kong Football Association Board of Directors on 15 July 2020, the marquee player must fulfil one of the following criteria:
i) played for a club which is in a world's top professional league of one of the top 50 associations in the FIFA ranking published by FIFA on 11 June 2020 for at least 1 season or ii) fielded by his association in an international match, which his association is one of the top 50 associations in the FIFA ranking published by FIFA on 11 June 2020.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Former/Unregistered Players |
| Eastern | Lucas Silva | Everton | Eduardo Praes | João Emir | Dudu | | Chen Hao-wei |
| Happy Valley | Razaq Adegbite | Luciano | Mikael | Charlie Scott | Robert Odu | | |
| Kitchee | Manuel Gavilán | Raúl Baena | Park Jun-heong | Dejan Damjanović | Cleiton | Tomas | Wellingsson |
| Lee Man | Gil | Jonathan Acosta | Serhiy Shapoval | José Ángel | Kim Seung-yong | Manolo Bleda | Michaël N'dri |
| Southern | Stefan Pereira | Zesh Rehman | Shu Sasaki | Kota Kawase | | | Matthew Cahill Pedro Mendes |
| Pegasus | Nilson | Marquinhos | Kessi | Júnior Goiano | | | Bernardo |
| Rangers | Oleksii Shliakotin | Juninho | Fernando Lopes | Augusto Neto | Douglão | | |
| Resources Capital | Albert Canal | Felipe Sá | Carles Tena | Jordon Brown | | | |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kitchee (C) | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 32 | 12 | +20 | 37 | Qualification for AFC Champions League Group Stage |
| 2 | Eastern | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 38 | 16 | +22 | 34 | Qualification for AFC Cup Group Stage |
| 3 | Lee Man | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 34 | 21 | +13 | 30 | Qualification for AFC Cup Qualifying Play-offs |
| 4 | Pegasus (D, R) | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 23 | 27 | −4 | 28 | Relegation to Hong Kong Third Division League |
| 5 | Southern | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 35 | −6 | 16 | |
| 6 | Rangers | 17 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 25 | 28 | −3 | 16 | |
| 7 | Resources Capital | 17 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 15 | 49 | −34 | 15 | |
| 8 | Happy Valley (R) | 17 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 25 | 33 | −8 | 13 | Relegation to Hong Kong First Division League |
* ↑ Teams were split into two groups (Championship Group and Relegation Group) after each team played 14 matches.
* ↑ Pegasus announced that they would self-relegate to the third division due to lack of funds.
* 1 2 Head-to head results for teams with 16 points: Southern 5 points; Rangers 2 points.

## Results

| Home \ Away | EAS | HVA | KIT | LEE | PEG | RAN | RES | SOU |
| Eastern | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 2–1 |
| Happy Valley | 1–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Kitchee | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 |
| Lee Man | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 |
| Pegasus | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–4 |
| Rangers | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Resources Capital | 0–5 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 1–0 |
| Southern | 0–5 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 4–1 | — |

### Championship Group

| Home \ Away | KIT | EAS | PEG | LEE |
| Kitchee | — | 2–0 | — | 0–1 |
| Eastern | — | — | 4–0 | — |
| Pegasus | 2–1 | — | — | 1–5 |
| Lee Man | — | 2–1 | — | — |

### Relegation Group

| Home \ Away | SOU | RES | RAN | HVA |
| Southern | — | 1–2 | — | 2–1 |
| Resources Capital | — | — | 0–6 | — |
| Rangers | 2–2 | — | — | 3–3 |
| Happy Valley | — | 7–2 | — | — |

## Positions by round

To preserve chronological evolvements, 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 |
| Kitchee | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Eastern | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Pegasus | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Lee Man | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Southern | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Resources Capital | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Rangers | 3 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| Happy Valley | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
* Qualification for the Championship Group
* Qualification for the Regulation Group

### Championship Group

| Team ╲ Round | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| Kitchee | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Eastern | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Lee Man | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Pegasus | 3 | 3 | 4 |
* Leader - 2022 AFC Champions League

### Relegation Group

| Team ╲ Round | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| Southern | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Rangers | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Resources Capital | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Happy Valley | 4 | 4 | 4 |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of the end of the season
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Dejan Damjanović | Kitchee | 17 |
| 2 | James Ha | Southern | 12 |
| 2 | Gil | Lee Man | 12 |
| 4 | Sandro | Eastern | 11 |
| 5 | Stefan Pereira | Southern | 9 |
| 6 | Marquinhos | Pegasus | 7 |
| 7 | Felipe Sá | Resources Capital | 6 |
| 7 | Nilson | Pegasus | 6 |
| 9 | Lucas Silva | Eastern | 5 |
| 9 | Robert Odu | Happy Valley | 5 |
| 9 | Fernando | Eastern | 5 |
| 9 | Juninho | Rangers | 5 |

### Hat-tricks

    Note: The results column shows the scorer's team score first. Teams in bold are home teams.
| # | Player | Nationality | For | Against | Result | Date |
| 1 | Stefan Pereira | Brazil | Southern | Pegasus | 4–0 | 21 November 2020 |
| 2 | Marquinhos | Brazil | Pegasus | Lee Man | 3–1 | 11 April 2021 |
| 3 | Dejan Damjanović | Montenegro | Kitchee | Happy Valley | 3–1 | 16 April 2021 |
| 4 | James Ha | Hong Kong | Southern | Resources Capital | 4–1 | 5 May 2021 |
| 5 | Dejan Damjanović | Montenegro | Kitchee | Rangers | 3–1 | 7 May 2021 |
| 6 | Gil | Brazil | Lee Man | Resources Capital | 4–0 | 9 May 2021 |
| 7 | Luciano | Brazil | Happy Valley | Resources Capital | 7–2 | 22 May 2021 |
| 8 | Gil | Brazil | Lee Man | Pegasus | 5–1 | 23 May 2021 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Match(es) |
| 1 | Wang Zhenpeng | Kitchee | 6 |
| 2 | Yapp Hung Fai | Eastern | 5 |
| 3 | Lam Chun Kit | Resources Capital | 4 |
| 3 | Yuen Ho Chun | Lee Man | 4 |
| 3 | Oleksii Shliakotin | Rangers | 4 |
| 6 | Leung Hing Kit | Pegasus | 3 |
| 7 | Tse Tak Him | Southern | 1 |
| 7 | To Chun Kiu | Happy Valley | 1 |
| 7 | Felix Luk | Pegasus | 1 |
| 7 | Tsang Man Fai | Eastern | 1 |
| 7 | Paulo César | Kitchee | 1 |

## Attendances

    As of matches played 11 May 2021
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Kitchee | 11,571 | 3,101 | 1,130 | 1,653 | −14.0%$^†$ |
| 2 | Pegasus | 9,873 | 2,106 | 545 | 1,410 | +155.9%$^†$ |
| 3 | Eastern | 8,133 | 2,813 | 470 | 1,162 | +44.7%$^†$ |
| 4 | Happy Valley | 6,003 | 1,635 | 559 | 858 | +54.6%$^†$ |
| 5 | Lee Man | 5,964 | 1,872 | 481 | 852 | −2.9%$^†$ |
| 6 | Southern | 4,386 | 1,036 | 308 | 627 | −27.2%$^†$ |
| 7 | Rangers | 4,292 | 881 | 464 | 613 | +63.5%$^†$ |
| 8 | Resources Capital | 4,028 | 763 | 419 | 575 | n/a$^1$ |
| | League total | 54,250 | 3,101 | 308 | 969 | +22.2%$^†$ |
Source: HKFA Notes: 1: Team did not play in the Premier League last season

## Awards
### Monthly Most Valuable Player

| Month | Most Valuable Player | Most Valuable Player | References |
| Month | Player | Club | References |
| October & November | Sandro | Eastern | |
| February & March | Dejan Damjanović | Kitchee | |
| April | Leung Hing Kit | Pegasus | |
| May | Dejan Damjanović | Kitchee | |

### Hong Kong Top Footballer Awards

| Awards | Prize Winner | Club | Votes |
| Footballer of the Year | Dejan Damjanović | Kitchee | 77.34% |
| Women's Footballer of the Year | Lau Yun Yi | Tai Po (Women) | 9 |
| Coach of the Year | Chu Chi Kwong | Kitchee | 35.76% |
| Young Players of the Year | Sun Ming Him | Pegasus | 49.57% |
| Young Players of the Year | Ho Chun Ting | Kitchee | 42.26% |
| Players' Player | Charlie Scott | Happy Valley | 32 |
| Most Favorite Player | Dani Cancela | Kitchee | 2,367 |
| Hong Kong Top Footballers ||||
| Goalkeeper | Yapp Hung Fai | Eastern | 32.52% |
| Defenders | Dani Cancela | Kitchee | 51.63% |
| Defenders | Eduardo Praes | Eastern | 49.61% |
| Defenders | Júnior Goiano | Pegasus | 36.65% |
| Defenders | Hélio | Kitchee | 26.45% |
| Midfielders | Marquinhos | Pegasus | 53.92% |
| Midfielders | Ngan Lok Fung | Lee Man | 43.40% |
| Midfielders | Charlie Scott | Happy Valley | 31.80% |
| Midfielders | Cleiton | Kitchee | 28.12% |
| Forwards | Dejan Damjanović | Kitchee | 77.34% |
| Forwards | Sandro | Eastern | 47.63% |

## Remarks

* ^ Match was played behind closed doors due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong.