Hong Kong

Establishment and pre-WWII era

Before Hong Kong became a member of FIFA in 1954, Hong Kong began playing in the Hong Kong–Macau Interport tournament in 1937, which was one of the oldest competitions co-held by Hong Kong as well as continuously played. There were other interport tournaments in the past, such as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Interport which was first held in 1908. At that time the team was composed of ethnic Chinese as well as western expatriates, as in the 1935 and 1937 edition of Shanghai-Hong Kong Interport. There was another Interport tournament against Saigon. The aforementioned Macau, Shanghai and Saigon were not a member of FIFA nor a sovereign nation at that time, with Hong Kong and Macau only having joined FIFA in 1954 and 1978 respectively. The China national team that participated in 1936 and 1948 Summer Olympics, were mainly composed of ethnic Chinese players from Hong Kong, most famously Lee Wai Tong.

After WWII, a number of Shanghai-based players began representing Hong Kong, such as Chang King Hai and Hsu King Shing. Hong Kong played its first international match after World War II in 1949,^[] against South Korea. Its first victory came in 1953, a 4–0 win against South Korea.^[]

FIFA member (1954–present)

The Hong Kong FA became a member of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation in 1954. Since then Hong Kong played their first FIFA-recognised international match against other countries. HKFA also sent a scratch team for 1957 Merdeka Tournament, which was composed of players from Eastern due to their proximity, plus few players from other clubs. The club was having a pre-season tour in South Asia, thus the HKFA invited the club to represent Hong Kong. However, some of the players were in fact ineligible to play for Hong Kong, as they were ROC (Taiwan) international players.

Hong Kong qualified for three of the first four editions of the Asian Cup, including a third-place finish in the 1956 edition as host. At that time, most Hong Kong players represented Republic of China (Taiwan); they finished third in the Asian Cup in the 1960 edition, leaving more inferior players to the proper Hong Kong team.

Hong Kong has never qualified for the World Cup. However, its most celebrated victory happened during 1986 World Cup qualifying. On 19 May 1985, in Beijing, Hong Kong faced China in the final match of the first qualifying round, where Hong Kong needed a win to advance while China needed only a draw. Hong Kong, led by coach Kwok Ka Ming, produced a 2–1 upset win, with goals from Cheung Chi Tak and Ku Kam Fai, thereby winning the group and advancing to the knockout stage where it subsequently lost to Japan.

The 1998 World Cup Asian qualifiers was considered one of Hong Kong's darkest moments as it was hit by a match-fixing scandal that involved former Sing Tao striker Chan Tsz-Kong who was found guilty and jailed for a year after he bribed players to throw and lose a match against Thailand. Others who were involved include goalkeeper Kevin Lok Kar-Win, defenders Chan Chi-Keung and Lau Chi Yuen and striker Wai Kwan-Lung.

Football fever in 2015

A short football fever appeared during 2018 World Cup qualifying in Hong Kong, as Hong Kong had drawn into the same group with their fierce rival, China. Due to the tensions built up from Hong Kong–Mainland China conflict, many local citizens became interested in this year's campaign; all four home matches were recorded as a sellout. Hong Kong ended the campaign with 4 victories against Bhutan and Maldives, 2 scoreless draws against China, and 2 losses against Qatar.

In late 2018, under the guidance of English-born coach Gary White, Hong Kong qualified for their third appearance at the EAFF E-1 Football Championship finals. Shortly afterwards, White departed from the role.

In April 2019, Hong Kong FA appointed Finnish-born Mixu Paatelainen as the new head coach of the national football team in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship tournament. However, after a poor run of performances, Mixu's contract was not renewed.

Qualification to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup finals

On 13 December 2021, Norwegian Jørn Andersen who formerly guided North Korea was named as the new head coach succeeding Mixu Paatelainen in preparation for the third round of qualification of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. He guided Hong Kong to qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup by beating Afghanistan 2–1 and Cambodia 3–0, reaching the final tournament after a 55-year absence. In preparation for the tournament itself, on 2 January 2024, Hong Kong pulled a shocking 2–1 victory over arch-enemy China beating them for the first time in 29 years during the friendly match held in Abu Dhabi.

On 15 January 2024, Hong Kong then kicked off their 2023 Asian Cup campaign against UAE in which they lost 3–1 in the opening match where Chan Siu Kwan scored the 1,000th goal in the AFC Asian Cup history.