Hong Kong FA intervene in young talent’s BN(O) visa tangle, Tsang hoping for resolution to career crisis in England
- Ellison Tsang Yi-hang was a leading performer for Hong Kong under-23s during their improbable run to the Asian Games semi-finals
- The 20-year-old moved to England to study for a physiotherapy degree, and expected to be allowed to play semi-professional football in the country
The Football Association of Hong Kong, China [HKFA] is trying to come to the rescue of Ellison Tsang Yi-hang, whose career has run aground since he moved to England to study last year.
Defender Tsang was on the cusp of signing for FC United of Manchester, but 24 hours before a planned debut in February, discovered his registration had been blocked by the English Football Association.
Tsang, 20, had expected his British National (Overseas), or BN(O), visa to allow him to play semi-professionally. He subsequently learned he would need an international sportsperson visa [ISV] to play for seventh-tier FC United, because the English governing body considers them a professional club.
He has played competitively only twice since the bronze medal match at the Asian competition on October 7. Both appearances came for Hong Kong in the Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup, on January 31, and February 7.
Jorn Andersen, the Hong Kong head coach, says Tsang “has talent … and can compete at a high level”.
Morling told the Post that Chris Jenkins, the HKFA’s lead performance and methodology analyst, and Graeme Chan, the representative teams administration manager, were speaking to the English FA to try to find a way through the red tape.
“We contacted the English FA on Ellis’s behalf to try to see if we can fix that issue,” Morling said. “It is quite complicated, but we are trying to help him, and at least convince the FA to provide some form of registration in the short term.
“It is a genuine case of him studying in England, and not being allowed to play football.”
Tsang, who is regularly training to maintain fitness, told the Post he “asked the FA for help ... but is waiting to hear about any developments”.
“I am expecting it to be tricky, with it being the end of the season [in English non-league], but it is good news they are in contact [with the English FA],” he said.
Tsang began this season with HKU23, before leaving the city to pursue a physiotherapy degree at Salford University. A graduate of Kitchee’s academy, he was at the heart of a Hong Kong defence that shutout Palestine and Iran in startling Asian Games victories.
Tsang was a member of the full Hong Kong squad for the East Asian Football Federation Championship finals in July 2022, but is waiting for a senior competitive debut.
ISVs are granted to “elite sportspeople, or qualified coaches”, who are “internationally established”.
The UK government’s website specifies a BN(O) visa entitles holders to “study and work (except you cannot work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach)”.
