Coronavirus: Hong Kong side Lee Man follow Kitchee’s lead, head overseas to train for AFC Cup campaign
- Manager says they have no choice but to leave city as Covid-19 restrictions mean they cannot gather in Hong Kong
- Lee Man were scheduled to host Mongolian side Athletic 220 in a play-off next month but have asked for it to be moved
Premier League side Lee Man have become the second Hong Kong club to announce they are leaving the city to train overseas to boost their AFC Cup campaign.
Manager Chan Hiu-ming said they would head to Thailand, just like champions Kitchee, with sports venues in Hong Kong closed by the government since January because of the latest coronavirus outbreak.
But before they go ahead with the plan, Lee Man, who enjoyed great success in their maiden AFC Cup run last year, must get approval from the Asian Football Confederation to start their play-off match for the group stage at a neutral venue.
The Hong Kong club were only one step from reaching the 2021 AFC Cup final last season, losing to Nasaf of Uzbekistan in the inter-zone play-off final 3-2 defeat after extra time.
But, because they finished third in the BOC Premier League last season, they have to go through a play-off as the second team from Hong Kong, behind Eastern who came second.
That play-off against Mongolian side Athletic 220 was scheduled to be held in Hong Kong in April, but with officials expected to lock down the city for mass testing that game is now in doubt.
“We will play hosts to Athletic 220 of Mongolia in April according to the AFC schedule, but now it is impossible because of the consequences brought by the pandemic attack in Hong Kong,” Chan said.
“Since the group stage will not start until late June, we have requested to reschedule the match to June and relocate it to Taiwan.
“We are still waiting for the reply from the AFC and if they agree, we will bring the whole team to Thailand for training ahead of the play-off and the group stage if we can go through. Thailand has little requirement of quarantine for overseas visitors and it is easy to make travel arrangements from Hong Kong.”
Lee Man also met the same Mongolian side in the group competition last year, cruising through a 5-1 victory at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground.
But the two sides will have to fight for the place this year in group J, which features Eastern, MUST CPK from Macau and Tainan City from Taiwan.
The AFC announced last week that group matches will kick off in Tainan on June 24.
Chan said that with no matches and no training since January, his team’s preparation for their AFC campaign could not have been any worse.
“It’s just like off season as we have been out of action for almost two months with no training at all,” he said. “All players will have to pick up their form and match fitness as soon as possible once we have obtained the latest schedule from the AFC and we hope it will not take too long.”
Lee Man played the last game of the season when they defeated RCFC 2-1 in the Sapling Cup on January 5 and two days later, the government decided to close all stadiums because of the pandemic attack.
Last week, the Hong Kong Football Association and clubs decided to abandon the whole season, after the government extended its existing social-distancing measures to April 20.
