# 2022–23 Hong Kong Premier League

The 2022–23 Hong Kong Premier League (also known as the BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the 9th season of the Hong Kong Premier League, the top division of Hong Kong football.

## Teams

A total of 10 teams contest the league, including 8 teams from the 2021–22 Hong Kong Premier League and 2 teams promoted from the 2021–22 Hong Kong First Division.
| Club | Founded | Position of Last Season (Before Cancellation) |
| Southern | 2002 | 1st |
| Kitchee | 1931 | 2nd |
| Lee Man | 2017 | 3rd |
| Eastern | 1932 | 4th |
| Rangers | 1958 | 5th |
| HKFC | 1886 | 6th |
| HK U23 | 2021 | 7th |
| Resources Capital | 1982 | 8th |
| Tai Po | 2002 | 1st in First Division |
| Sham Shui Po | 2002 | 6th in First Division |
* Yellow denotes a newly promoted club entering the league this year.

### Stadia and locations

Primary venues used in the Hong Kong Premier League:
| Kitchee Eastern | Sham Shui Po | Lee Man HK U23 | Tai Po |
| Mong Kok Stadium | Sham Shui Po Sports Ground | Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground | Tai Po Sports Ground |
| Capacity: 6,664 | Capacity: 2,194 | Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 3,200 |
| Resources Capital | HKFC | Southern | Rangers |
| Tsing Yi Sports Ground | HKFC Stadium | Aberdeen Sports Ground | Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground |
| Capacity: 1,500 | Capacity: 2,750 | Capacity: 9,000 | Capacity: 2,200 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Kitchee | Ken Ng | Chu Chi Kwong | Huang Yang | Nike | EDPS Systems Ltd. |
| Lee Man | Norman Lee | Tsang Chiu Tat | Fernando Recio | Adidas | Lee & Man Chemical |
| Rangers | Peter Mok | Chiu Chung Man Wong Chin Hung Lai Ka Fai Poon Man Chun | Lam Ka Wai | UCAN | Biu Chun Watch Hands & Parts Manufacturers Ltd. |
| Southern | Matthew Wong | Cheng Siu Chung | Shu Sasaki | Macron | MAN SE |
| Resources Capital | Hanson Wong | Joan Esteva | Cheng King Ho | FPCM | Kai Bo Food Supermarket |
| HKFC | Tony Sealy | Tony Hamilton-Bram | Freek Schipper | Adidas | The Executive Centre |
| HK U23 | Eric Fok | Szeto Man Chun | Wong Ho Yin | MC Sportswear | Key Connect |
| Tai Po | Lam Yick Kuen | Li Hang Wui | Chan Hiu Fung | Joma | Wofoo Social Enterprises Limited |
| Eastern | Cheng Kai Ming | Roberto Losada | Leung Chun Pong | Adidas | Upbest Group |
| Sham Shui Po | Lo Wing Man | Kwok Kar Lok | Lo Kong Wai Wo Chi Ming | Atacar | Sportshouse |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Southern | Zesh Rehman | Mutual Consent | 5 March 2022 | Pre-season | Cheng Siu Chung | 14 June 2022 |
| Resources Capital | Joan Esteva | Signed by United City | 3 June 2022 | Pre-season | Tang Kwun Yin | 11 August 2022 |
| Tai Po | Chan Yuk Chi | Change of Role | 10 July 2022 | Pre-season | Li Hang Wui | 10 July 2022 |
| Sham Shui Po | Ko Chun Kay | Change of Role | 11 July 2022 | Pre-season | Poon Man Tik | 11 July 2022 |
| HK U23 | Cheung Kin Fung | Mutual Consent | 31 July 2022 | Pre-season | Szeto Man Chun | 2 August 2022 |
| Sham Shui Po | Poon Man Tik | Resigned | 1 October 2022 | 10th | Kwok Kar Lok | 3 October 2022 |
| Resources Capital | Tang Kwun Yin | Resigned | 19 October 2022 | 6th | Joan Esteva | 4 November 2022 |
| Lee Man | Chan Hiu Ming | Sacked | 5 February 2023 | 2nd | Tsang Chiu Tat | 5 February 2023 |

### Foreign players

The number of foreign players teams can register is unlimited, with no more than 6 in the match squad and no more than 5 on the pitch during matches.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Player 8 | Player 9 | Former/Unregistered Players |
| Kitchee | Cleiton | Mikael | Igor Sartori | Charlie Scott | Dejan Damjanović | Ruslan Mingazow | Bekzhan Sagynbaev | Kim Shin-wook | Enikar Mehmud | Raúl Baena Michalis Manias |
| Lee Man | Gil | Everton | Jonathan Acosta | José Ángel | Manolo Bleda | Manuel Gavilán | Alie Sesay | Ryoya Tachibana | | |
| Southern | Stefan Pereira | Dudu | Kessi | Jean Moser | Shu Sasaki | Kota Kawase | | | | |
| Rangers | Juninho | Fernando Lopes | Kim Min-kyu | Park Jong-bum | Ryota Hayashi | Yumemi Kanda | Yang Bailin | Nassam Ibrahim | | David Bala Cássio Augusto Neto Kaan Gül |
| Resources Capital | Felipe Sá | Ricardo Sendra | Pablo Gállego | Albert Canal | Carles Tena | Benjamin Tandy Ortega | Robert Odu | | | |
| Tai Po | João Emir | Paulinho Simionato | Gabriel Cividini | Luizinho | | | | | | |
| Eastern | João Gil | Marcos Gondra | Víctor Bertomeu | Kaan Gül | Tamirlan Kozubayev | Emilio Estevez | | | | |
| Sham Shui Po | Nicholas Benavides | Jesús González | Oleksii Shliakotin | Sim Woon-sub | Kwon Jae-kyeong | Chen Hao | Sanzio Limbu | Oyuntuya Oyunbold | | Thiago Silva Shahwaiz Khan |
There are no restrictions on the number of foreign players that HKFC can register. However, the team must have at least nine Hong Kong players in the squad, with no less than three on the pitch during matches.
| Club | HK Player 1 | HK Player 2 | HK Player 3 | HK Player 4 | HK Player 5 | HK Player 6 | HK Player 7 |
| HKFC | Yue Yixing | Alexandre Dujardin | Paul Ngue | Jack Sealy | Emmet Wan | Paulinho | Timothy Chow |
| HKFC | HK Player 8 | HK Player 9 | HK Player 10 | HK Player 11 | HK Player 12 | HK Player 13 |
| HKFC | Wong Sheung Choi | Fung Long Hin | Ng Tsz Chung | Siu Ka Ming | Robert Scott | Freek Schipper |
HK U23 is not allowed to register any foreign players. Meanwhile, the number of overaged players is restricted to five for the team, with no more than three on the pitch during matches. The rest of the players must meet the registration status of U23 local players.
| Club | Overaged Player 1 | Overaged Player 2 | Overaged Player 3 | Overaged Player 4 | Overaged Player 5 |
| HK U23 | Law Hiu Chung | Kwok Tsz Kaai | Wong Ho Yin | Yuen Sai Kit | Cheung Chun Hin |

## Match ball

The match ball chosen for the 2022–23 Hong Kong Premier League is the Nike Flight football 22/23. The ball will be used for all HKFA-related competitions including the Sapling Cup, Senior Challenge Shield and also the FA Cup.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kitchee (C) | 18 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 76 | 7 | +69 | 46 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Lee Man | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 13 | +37 | 44 | Qualification for AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs |
| 3 | Rangers | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 41 | 16 | +25 | 33 | Qualification for AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs |
| 4 | Eastern | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 32 | 13 | +19 | 31 | |
| 5 | Southern | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 31 | |
| 6 | HKFC | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 22 | −4 | 26 | |
| 7 | Tai Po | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 27 | −7 | 20 | |
| 8 | Resources Capital | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 34 | −19 | 18 | |
| 9 | Sham Shui Po | 18 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 62 | −58 | 7 | |
| 10 | HK U23 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 6 | 67 | −61 | 1 | |
* ↑ Since the winners of the 2022–23 Hong Kong FA Cup, Kitchee, qualified for the Champions League group stage, the Champions League qualifying play-offs berth given to the Hong Kong FA Cup winners was passed to the third-placed team.
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Eastern 3, Southern 3. Head-to-head goals: Eastern 2, Southern 2 Goal differences: Eastern +19, Southern -1.

## Results

| Home \ Away | KIT | TPF | LEE | RAN | RES | SOU | HKF | U23 | EAS | SSP |
| Kitchee | — | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 7–0 | 5–0 | 8–0 | 3–0 | 7–0 |
| Tai Po | 2–1 | — | 0–3 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Lee Man | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 10–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| Rangers | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 |
| Resources Capital | 0–5 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–3 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Southern | 0–5 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 |
| HKFC | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| HK U23 | 0–7 | 0–3 | 1–5 | 0–5 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | — | 0–5 | 1–2 |
| Eastern | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | — | 4–0 |
| Sham Shui Po | 0–10 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–7 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | — |

## 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 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Kitchee | 6 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Eastern | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Lee Man | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Southern | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Rangers | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Resources Capital | 7 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| HKFC | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| HK U23 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Tai Po | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Sham Shui Po | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
* Leader - 2023–24 AFC Champions League
* Runner-up - 2023–24 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Dejan Damjanović | Kitchee | 17 |
| 1 | Ruslan Mingazov | Kitchee | 17 |
| 1 | Everton Camargo | Lee Man | 17 |
| 4 | Stefan Pereira | Southern | 13 |
| 5 | Mikael | Kitchee | 9 |
| 6 | Paulinho Simionato | Tai Po | 8 |
| 6 | Gil | Lee Man | 8 |
| 6 | Sun Ming Him | Eastern | 8 |
| 9 | Felipe Sá | Resources Capital | 7 |
| 9 | Juninho | Rangers | 7 |
| 9 | Yumemi Kanda | Rangers | 7 |
| 9 | Víctor Bertomeu | Eastern | 7 |
| 9 | Manolo Bleda | Lee Man | 7 |

### 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 | Manolo Bleda | Spain | Lee Man | HK U23 | 10–0 | 15 October 2022 |
| 2 | Ruslan Mingazow | Turkmenistan | Kitchee | Southern | 7–0 | 15 October 2022 |
| 3 | Felipe Sá | Brazil | Resources Capital | HK U23 | 3–0 | 30 October 2022 |
| 4 | Dejan Damjanović | Montenegro | Kitchee | HK U23 | 7–0 | 12 November 2022 |
| 5 | Stefan Pereira | Brazil | Southern | Sham Shui Po | 3–0 | 26 November 2022 |
| 6 | Stefan Pereira | Brazil | Southern | HK U23 | 3–1 | 4 February 2023 |
| 7 | Everton Camargo | Brazil | Lee Man | HK U23 | 5–1 | 15 April 2023 |
^ $^5$ Player scored 5 goals

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Match(es) |
| 1 | Paulo César | Kitchee | 13 |
| 2 | Yapp Hung Fai | Eastern | 9 |
| 3 | Ng Wai Him | Southern | 7 |
| 4 | Chan Ka Ho | Lee Man | 6 |
| 5 | Freddie Toomer | HKFC | 5 |
| 5 | Leung Hing Kit | Rangers | 5 |
| 7 | Li Hon Ho | Tai Po | 3 |
| 7 | Tse Ka Wing | Tai Po | 3 |
| 7 | Lam Chun Kit | Resources Capital | 3 |
| 10 | Yuen Ho Chun | Lee Man | 2 |
| 10 | Lo Siu Kei | Rangers | 2 |

## Attendances

    As of
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Kitchee | 15,367 | 6,489 | 636 | 1,707 | −21.6%$^†$ |
| 2 | Eastern | 9,386 | 2,448 | 345 | 1,043 | −0.9%$^†$ |
| 3 | HKFC | 7,427 | 1,720 | 560 | 825 | +68.7%$^†$ |
| 4 | Lee Man | 7,357 | 2,021 | 358 | 817 | −13.4%$^†$ |
| 5 | Sham Shui Po | 6,759 | 1,450 | 344 | 751 | n/a$^1$ |
| 6 | Tai Po | 5,260 | 958 | 333 | 584 | n/a$^1$ |
| 7 | Resources Capital | 4,715 | 1,421 | 265 | 524 | +11.7%$^†$ |
| 8 | Southern | 4,515 | 1,101 | 269 | 502 | +18.4%$^†$ |
| 9 | Rangers | 4,196 | 699 | 302 | 466 | −56.7%$^†$ |
| 10 | HK U23 | 2,472 | 420 | 135 | 275 | +5.8%$^†$ |
| | League total | 67,454 | 6,489 | 135 | 749 | −23.0%$^†$ |
Source: HKFA Notes: 1: Team did not play in the Premier League last season

## Awards
### Hong Kong Top Footballer Awards

| Awards | Prize Winner | Club | Score / Votes |
| Footballer of the Year | Ruslan Mingazov | Kitchee | 69.33% |
| Coach of the Year | Roberto Losada | Eastern | 53.91% |
| Young Players of the Year | Sun Ming Him | Eastern | 57.58% |
| Young Players of the Year | Wong Ho Chun | Eastern | 33.52% |
| Players' Player | Chan Siu Kwan | Resources Capital | 30 |
| Most Favorite Player | Freddie Toomer | HKFC | 1,712 |
| Hong Kong Top Footballers ||||
| Goalkeeper | Yapp Hung Fai | Eastern | 47.27% |
| Defenders | Gabriel Cividini | Tai Po | 54.61% |
| Defenders | Hélio | Kitchee | 36.54% |
| Defenders | Kim Min-kyu | Rangers | 31.94% |
| Defenders | Tsui Wang Kit | Lee Man | 55.98% |
| Midfielders | Lam Hin Ting | Rangers | 32.39% |
| Midfielders | Cleiton | Kitchee | 39.04% |
| Midfielders | Mikael | Kitchee | 39.51% |
| Forwards | Everton Camargo | Lee Man | 47.39% |
| Forwards | Ruslan Mingazov | Kitchee | 69.33% |
| Forwards | Sun Ming Him | Eastern | 53.54% |