Eastern Long Lions wins the 2016 HKJC Community Cup

09/16/2016

In a thrilling game at Mongkok Stadium today (16 September) more than 4,400 football fans saw Eastern Long Lions beat Kitchee 3 to 1 to win the 2016 Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Cup, the first title of the Hong Kong football season. Eastern Long Lions was awarded prize money of HK$250,000, with Kitchee receiving HK$100,000. This was the third year The Hong Kong Jockey Club has sponsored the Community Cup, which is organised by The Hong Kong Football Association.

A new highlight this year was a pre-match exhibition game between mixed teams of jockeys and football legends. Led by Champion Jockey Joao Moreira and football legend Peter Wong the two teams - Joao and Friends and Peter and Friends – took part in a 30 minute match. Eventually, Peter and Friends won in this friendly match. In addition to Moreira, whose home country is football powerhouse Brazil, other jockeys taking part were Neil Callan, Zac Purton, Chad Schofield and Derek Leung. Participating football legends included local stars Leslie Santos, Lee Kin Wo, Cheung Chi Tak, Yau Kin Wai and Fung Ka Ki.

Another highlight was the HKJC Junior Community Cup, which each year gives under 13 players the opportunity to showcase their footballing skills. This year it was the young players of South China Athletic Association who beat Eastern District to take home the trophy.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Community Cup is a unique event that combines football with community engagement. The Club’s sponsorship covers prize money plus a sum to be shared among the nine other Premier League clubs to promote local football development. In addition, the Club’s donation also benefits society as a whole, with a portion of the sponsorship and net proceeds from the match being donated to charities chosen by participating teams. This year the two charities nominated by Eastern Long Lions and Kitchee were respectively the Pok Oi Hospital and United Christian Hospital. Students and less-privileged people were also invited by the Club to attend the match.

The Jockey Club is a long-time supporter of local football development. Since 2012, it has been collaborating with Manchester United on a number of programmes to bring professional coaching, as well as leadership and life skills training to Hong Kong’s young people – helping them grow physically, mentally and socially. The Club also supports the Jockey Club Youth Football Development Scheme, whose summer scheme is the largest such programme in Hong Kong. Last year, the Club announced a HK$120 million donation to support the first-ever holistic Jockey Club HKFA 5-Year Football Development Programme. The Club also funded the construction of Jockey Club Kitchee Centre as well as the reconstruction of Hong Kong Stadium.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to community betterment. Through its integrated business model of world-class racing, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charity and community contribution, the Club generates substantial economic and social value and assists the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2015/16 the Club donated a record HK$3.9 billion to charity and paid a record HK$20.9 billion in tax. It is Hong Kong’s largest single tax payer and one of the world’s largest charity donors. Committed to global excellence and giving back to society, the Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.