# 2019–20 Hong Kong Premier League

The 2019–20 Hong Kong Premier League (also known as the BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 6th season of the Hong Kong Premier League, the top division of Hong Kong football.
Kitchee became the champions for the fourth time. Igor Sartori and Serges Déblé were the joint top goalscorers with 6 goals. Tai Po and Yuen Long self-relegated to the Hong Kong First Division.

## Effects of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong, the HKFA announced on 16 April 2020 that all the HKPL matches after 18 March 2020 will be postponed and the 2019–20 season will be resumed not earlier than mid-August, with an aim to finish by early November this year. No relegation will occur this year.
On 30 April 2020, HKFA announced Rangers, Yuen Long and Pegasus announced their withdrawal from the remaining matches this season. Their eligibility for the HKPL next season will remain secure, and the league standing will be adjusted according to the Article D.8 of Competition Regulations: “If any Participating Club ceases to participate in the Competition during the course of the season, the record of the matches of the Competition in which its playing team has participated shall be expunged from the league table”.
On 29 May 2020, Tai Po announced that they, too, would drop out from the restart of the season. This means that there were only 6 teams left in the remaining of the season.
On 17 September 2020, HKFA announced that the season will resume on 19 September 2020 and end on 11 October 2020.

## Teams

A total of 10 teams contest the league, including eight sides from the 2018–19 Hong Kong Premier League and two promoted from the 2018–19 Hong Kong First Division, replacing relegated Dreams FC and Hoi King. On 11 July 2019, Dreams FC decided to self-relegate to the Hong Kong First Division due to lack of funds. The Hong Kong Football Association held an emergency board meeting on the 15th, during which the board voted to allow Dreams FC to relegate into the First Division and invite Rangers into the HKPL.
| Club | Founded | Position Last Season |
| Tai Po | 2002 | 1st |
| R&F | 2016 | 2nd |
| Southern | 2002 | 3rd |
| Kitchee | 1931 | 4th |
| Eastern | 1932 | 5th |
| Pegasus | 2008 | 6th |
| Yuen Long | 1958 | 7th |
| Lee Man | 2017 | 9th |
| Happy Valley | 1950 | 1st in First Division |
| Rangers | 1958 | 3rd in First Division |
* Pink denotes a newly promoted club entering the league this year.

### Stadia and locations

Primary venues used in the Hong Kong Premier League:
| Southern & Kitchee | Tai Po | Lee Man |
| Mong Kok Stadium | Tai Po Sports Ground | Sham Shui Po Sports Ground |
| Capacity: 6,769 | Capacity: 3,200 | Capacity: 2,194 |
| R&F | Happy Valley | Yuen Long |
| Yanzigang Stadium | Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground | Yuen Long Stadium |
| Capacity: 1,000 | Capacity: 2,200 | Capacity: 5,000 |
| Eastern | Pegasus | Rangers |
| Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground | Hong Kong Stadium | Tuen Mun Tang Shiu Kin Sports Ground |
| Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 2,200 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | President | Head Coach | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Kit sponsor |
| Eastern | Lam Kin Ming | Lee Chi Kin | Leung Chun Pong | Adidas | Topeast |
| Happy Valley | Chen Zhishi | Pau Ka Yiu | Mahir Karić | Adidas | World Electronic Sports Games |
| Kitchee | Ken Ng | Chu Chi Kwong | Huang Yang | Nike | edps, Lippo Group |
| Pegasus | Steven Lo | Man Pei Tak | Chan Siu Ki | Adidas | RedMR Cosmos |
| 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 | Tomas | Kelme | Bjorn Hendal Sweden |
| Southern | Matthew Wong | Zesh Rehman | Tse Tak Him | Macron | Isuzu |
| Tai Po | Gary Choy | Davor Berber | Dudu | Nike | Lippo Limited |
| Yuen Long | Wilson Wong | Kwok Kar Lok | Fábio Lopes | Kelme | PanaShop |
| R&F | Huang Shenghua | Yeung Ching Kwong | Roberto | Ucan | R&F Properties |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Yuen Long | Kwok Kar Lok | End of Contract | 30 May 2019 | Pre-season | Chan Man Chun | 3 August 2019 |
| Tai Po | Lee Chi Kin | Mutual Consent | 26 June 2019 | Pre-season | Kwok Kar Lok Fung Hoi Man | 29 July 2019 |
| Kitchee | Chu Chi Kwong | Change of Role | 3 July 2019 | Pre-season | Blaž Slišković | 3 July 2019 |
| Pegasus | Chan Ho Yin | End of Contract | 16 July 2019 | Pre-season | Man Pei Tak | 16 July 2019 |
| Eastern | Andrejs Štolcers | Change of Role | 17 July 2019 | Pre-season | Lee Chi Kin | 17 July 2019 |
| Tai Po | Kwok Kar Lok | Resigned | 6 November 2019 | 6th | | |
| Tai Po | Fung Hoi Man | Change of Role | 16 January 2020 | 6th | Davor Berber | 16 January 2020 |
| Yuen Long | Chan Man Chun | Change of Role | 1 February 2020 | 9th | Kwok Kar Lok | 1 February 2020 |
| Southern | Cheng Siu Chung | Mutual Consent | 16 March 2020 | 3rd | Pui Ho Wang Cristiano Cordeiro | 16 March 2020 |
| Kitchee | Blaž Slišković | Change of Role | 23 March 2020 | 3rd | Chu Chi Kwong | 23 March 2020 |
| Yuen Long | Kwok Kar Lok | Mutual Consent | 2 May 2020 | 9th | | |
| Southern | Pui Ho Wang Cristiano Cordeiro | End of Caretaker Roles | 16 May 2020 | 3rd | Zesh Rehman | 16 May 2020 |

### Foreign players

The number of foreign players is restricted to seven (including one Asian player and one Chinese player) per team, with no more than four on pitch during matches.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Asian Player | Former/Unregistered Players |
| Eastern | Everton | Eduardo Praes | João Emir | Lucas Silva | | Chen Hao-wei | Jean Moser Fernando |
| Happy Valley | Luciano | | | | | | Edu Cruz Igor Miović Mahir Karić Manuel Gavilán Marko Rajković Mikael |
| Kitchee | Cleiton | Wellingsson | Tomas | Manuel Gavilán | Nikola Komazec | Park Jun-heong | Krisztián Vadócz Lucas Silva Paulo César Fernando Manuel Bleda |
| Lee Man | Gil | Jonathan Acosta | Michaël N'dri | Serhiy Shapoval | Bruno Pinheiro | | Diogo Rangel |
| Southern | Stefan Pereira | Shu Sasaki | Kota Kawase | | | Zesh Rehman | Nikola Komazec Dhiego Martins Ticão Gabriel Méndez Travis Major Pedro Mendes |
| R&F | Igor Sartori | Dudu | Serges Déblé | Adama Guira | Daniel Angulo | Zhou Yuchen | Emmerson Chen Zirong Ji Xiangzheng Fu Yunlong Tiago Leonço |
| Pegasus | | | | | | | Juninho Jorge Ortí Gabriel Méndez Charles Lokolingoy Marcos Gondra Shu Sasaki David Lazari Jean Moser Mahama Awal Michael Glassock |
| Tai Po | | | | | | | Paulo César Michel Lugo Benjamin Van Meurs Dudu Željko Kuzmić Kim Min-ki Kim Seung-yong |
| Yuen Long | | | | | | | Katê Kessi Juninho Mikael Maicon Santana Wang Ruei |
| Rangers | | | | | | | Leandro Bazán Diego Cañete Ji Xiangzheng Tomas Stefan Pereira Pablo Leguizamón |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kitchee (C) | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 10 | +15 | 20 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Eastern | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 19 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 3 | R&F (D) | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 15 | +6 | 18 | Withdrew from league system, club folded |
| 4 | Lee Man | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 16 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 5 | Southern | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 10 | |
| 6 | Happy Valley | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 31 | −25 | 1 | |
| 7 | Pegasus (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew, record expunged |
| 8 | Rangers (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew, record expunged |
| 9 | Tai Po (D, R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew, record expunged Relegation to Hong Kong First Division League |
| 10 | Yuen Long (D, R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew, record expunged Relegation to Hong Kong First Division League |
* ↑ R&F withdrew from the league system after the end of the season and folded.
* ↑ Pegasus and Rangers withdrew from the league due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong, and their records were expunged.
* ↑ Tai Po and Yuen Long withdrew from the league due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong, and their records were expunged. On 12 June 2020, it was announced that they would self-relegate due to lack of funds.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000001F-QINU`"'

### Head to head

| Home \ Away | ELL | KIT | R&F | LEE | KCS | HVA | TPO | BCR | BYL | PEG |
| Eastern | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–3 | | | |
| Kitchee | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | | | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| R&F | 0–4 | 2–3 | — | 5–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | | 5–0 | 8–0 | |
| Lee Man | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | | 4–2 |
| Southern | 0–1 | 1–5 | 3–4 | 0–4 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| Happy Valley | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–5 | 1–2 | 1–4 | — | | | 1–1 | 3–3 |
| Tai Po | | 1–1 | 1–4 | | 2–4 | | — | 3–2 | | |
| Rangers | | 1–1 | 1–7 | | | 0–1 | | — | | |
| Yuen Long | 1–2 | | | | | 0–0 | 1–3 | 4–4 | — | |
| Pegasus | 0–1 | 0–3 | | | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — |

## 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 | 15 |
| Kitchee | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Eastern | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| R&F | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Lee Man | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Southern | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Happy Valley | 10 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Tai Po | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | x | x | x | x | x |
| Pegasus | 7 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | x | x | x | x | x |
| Rangers | 8 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | x | x | x | x | x |
| Yuen Long | 6 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | x | x | x | x | x |
* Leader
* Withdrew

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of matches played 11 October 2020
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Serges Déblé | R&F | 12 |
| 2 | Michaël N'dri | Lee Man | 10 |
| 3 | Igor Sartori | R&F | 9 |
| 4 | Travis Major | Southern | 8 |
| 4 | Wellingsson | Kitchee | 8 |
| 6 | Sandro | Tai Po/Eastern | 7 |
| 6 | Giovane | R&F | 7 |
| 8 | Leandro Bazán | Rangers | 6 |
| 8 | Manuel Gavilán | Happy Valley / Kitchee | 6 |
| 10 | Nikola Komazec | Southern / Kitchee | 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 | Michaël N'dri | France | Lee Man | Pegasus | 4–2 | 1 September 2019 |
| 2 | Serges Déblé $^4$ | Ivory Coast | R&F | Yuen Long | 8–0 | 19 October 2019 |
| 3 | Serges Déblé | Ivory Coast | R&F | Lee Man | 5–1 | 2 November 2019 |
| 4 | Serges Déblé | Ivory Coast | R&F | Happy Valley | 5–2 | 25 September 2020 |
| 5 | Wellingsson | Brazil | Kitchee | Happy Valley | 4–0 | 11 October 2020 |
| 6 | Leong Ka Hang | Macau | Lee Man | Southern | 4–0 | 11 October 2020 |

#### Note

$^4$ The player scored 4 goals.

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Match(es) |
| 1 | Zhou Yuchen | R&F | 6 |
| 2 | Yapp Hung Fai | Eastern | 5 |
| 3 | Wang Zhenpeng | Kitchee | 4 |
| 3 | Yuen Ho Chun | Lee Man | 4 |
| 5 | To Chun Kiu | Happy Valley | 2 |
| 6 | Yip Ka Yu | Yuen Long | 1 |
| 6 | Tse Tak Him | Southern | 1 |

## Attendances

    As of matches played 19 January 2020
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Kitchee | 9,617 | 2,772 | 1,483 | 1,923 | +9.0%$^†$ |
| 2 | Lee Man | 4,386 | 1,256 | 425 | 877 | +39.9%$^†$ |
| 3 | Southern | 3,443 | 978 | 667 | 861 | +4.1%$^†$ |
| 4 | Eastern | 2,408 | 893 | 731 | 803 | −22.8%$^†$ |
| 5 | Tai Po | 3,173 | 1,026 | 537 | 793 | −37.9%$^†$ |
| 6 | Yuen Long | 2,727 | 791 | 608 | 682 | −27.1%$^†$ |
| 7 | Happy Valley | 2,775 | 713 | 456 | 555 | n/a$^1$ |
| 8 | Pegasus | 3,308 | 747 | 363 | 551 | −43.0%$^†$ |
| 9 | R&F | 1,942 | 466 | 316 | 388 | −45.1%$^†$ |
| 10 | Rangers | 1,124 | 452 | 240 | 375 | n/a$^1$ |
| | League total | 34,903 | 2,772 | 240 | 793 | −15.3%$^†$ |
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 |
| August & September | Michaël N'dri | Lee Man | |
| October | Serges Déblé | R&F | |
| November | Giovane | R&F | |
| December | Ngan Lok Fung | Lee Man | |
| January | Wellingsson | Kitchee | |
| February | Sun Ming Him | Tai Po | |
| March | Sandro | Eastern | |
| September & October | Shinichi Chan | Kitchee | |

### Hong Kong Top Footballer Awards

This year's Hong Kong Top Footballer Awards was cancelled due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong.