Kitchee Sports Club (; ; ) is a Hong Kong professional football club based in Kowloon. It was founded in 1931 and currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League.

Throughout the club history, Kitchee is one of the most successful club in Hong Kong where they won 13 league titles, including 7 Hong Kong First Division titles and 6 Hong Kong Premier League titles. They also won 7 FA Cupss, 5 League Cup and 9 Senior Shield. The club is also the first Hong Kong club to win a game in the AFC Champions League group stage and to advance to the round of 16 of the competition.

History

Formation of the club (1931–1938)

In the late 1920s, a group of Hong Kongers formed a football team in order to compete in the Hong Kong Third Division. It was not until 1931, however, that the team was established as Kitchee Sports Club.

Kitchee was founded as a grassroots organization, as such, they lacked the funding to pay the administrative and facilities costs necessary to become a multi sports club.

It was not until 1934 when the club were able to raise the money to rent an office at 130 Johnston Road in Wan Chai, that they were admitted as members of the Hong Kong Football Association.

World War II era (1939–1946)

In 1939, Japanese bombs hit Hong Kong during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The club's records during this time were destroyed during the bombing.

As the Pacific War began, Hong Kong fell to the Japanese on 25 December 1941, therefore the club's operations were suspended during the three-year, eight-month Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.

After the Japanese surrender of Hong Kong in August 1945, former members of Kitchee returned to the club. They resolved to help revitalize the Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation of Hong Kong and establish the Chinese Football Association of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Chinese Football Referees’ Association and the Hong Kong Chinese Footballer's Fraternity.

Rise to prominence and first dynasty (1947–1964)

Following the war, Kitchee were admitted into the 1947–48 Hong Kong First Division League where they won the league title, the club's first major trophy. Between 1947 and 1964, the club won three Hong Kong First Division titles, one Second Division title, four Hong Kong Senior Shield's and one Hong Kong Junior Shield.

During this period, Kitchee discovered Hong Kong football legends Yiu Cheuk Yin and Lam Sheung Yee. Yiu led the club to its first two First Division titles and later became known as the "Treasure of Hong Kong Football." Lam spent a total 14 years at Kitchee, split between two spells, and was a part of every Kitchee squad which won a trophy between 1948 and 1964.

Yo-yo years (1965–2000)

In 1965–66, Kitchee won only one game while drawing four others in the season, finishing second bottom of the table. The club were relegated after a 17-year spell in the top flight. In the subsequent season, Kitchee slid into the Third Division for the first time in three decades.

In the late 1980s, Law Ding Chun was hired as the new chairman of Kitchee. Law moved quickly to modernize the operations of Kitchee, buying insurance for all of his players in order to provide them with peace of mind in the event of an injury. His changes worked as Kitchee were soon promoted back to the Second Division.

In 1991–92, Kitchee won the Second Division title, returning to the top flight for the first time in 26 years. The squad during this period featured many future Hong Kong internationals including Yau Kin Wai, Chung Ho Yin, Yeung Hei Chi, Yeung Ching Kwong, Dale Tempest, as well as former England international Mark Barham. Kitchee spent three seasons in the top flight before they were relegated along with Kui Tan at the end of the 1994–95 season.

During the 1998–99 season, Kitchee won promotion back to the First Division as well as the Hong Kong Junior Shield. The following year, the squad were led by a backbone of young local players such as Lee Wai Lun, Man Pei Tak and Ng Wai Chiu.

However, these were soon poached by bigger clubs and due to inadequate replacements, the performance of the team suffered and Kitchee were once again relegated at the conclusion of the 2000–01 season.

Ahead of the 2002–03 season, former Hong Kong national team manager Chan Hung Ping was hired as Kitchee's manager. He led the team to the Second Division title in his one and only season as manager.

Back to the top flight (2003–2009)

Following their return to the First Division in 2003, Kitchee became one of the most prominent teams in Hong Kong, winning three trophies in two seasons under coach Dejan Antonic: two in 2005–06 and one in 2006–07 season.

The club secured 2nd place in the league, along with league champions South China who had already qualified for the AFC Cup as the Hong Kong Senior Shield winners. As a result, Kitchee became one of two Hong Kong representatives in the 2008 AFC Cup. In the 2008 AFC Cup, Kitchee was drawn in Group E where they were drawn alongside Malaysian club Perak, Singaporean club Singapore Armed Forces and Maldivian club New Radiant. Kitchee recorded their win first in a 2–0 win over New Radiant on 18 March 2008 where Wilfred Bamnjo and Goran Stankovski scored the goal. However, Kitchee was bowed out from the tournament after finishing third in the group stage.

Rebuilding and decade of dominance (2009–2023)

Josep Gombau era (2009–2013)

In the 2010–11 season, under coach Josep Gombau, Kitchee won its first league title in 47 years by one point over arch rival South China, allowing the club to compete in both the 2011 Premier League Asia Trophy, where they lost 0–4 to Chelsea and 0–3 to Blackburn Rovers, and in the 2012 AFC Cup.

Kitchee were invited to take part in the 2010 Singapore Cup, becoming the first Hong Kong team to take part in the tournament. The club lost to Étoile 4–6 over two legs in the quarter-final.

Domestic treble

In the 2011–12 season, Kitchee won the domestic treble after successfully defending their league title and also winning both the 2011–12 Hong Kong FA Cup after defeating TSW Pegasus 5–3 on penalties and the 2011–12 Hong Kong League Cup defeating the same opponent 2–1 in the league cup final. In the 2012 AFC Cup, Kitchee was drawn in Group F alongside Malaysian club Terengganu, Singaporean club Tampines Rovers and Vietnamese club Sông Lam Nghệ An. Kitchee manage to topped the group and advance to the round of 16 where the club faced off against Indonesian club Arema, however, Kitchee lost 2–0 thus crashing out from the tournament.

Kitchee won the 2013–14 First Division league title after both co-caretakers, Chu Chi Kwong and Cheng Siu Chung guided the team to their first top flight title after 3 years.

José Francisco Molina era (2014–2015)

On 23 May 2014, Kitchee appointed former Atlético Madrid goalkeeper José Francisco Molina as the club manager ahead of the inaugural revamp Hong Kong Premier League season. Molina helms the club to win the 2014–15 league title, the 2014–15 HKFA Cup and the 2014–15 League Cup, completing the domestic treble for the second time in the club history.

Between 2011 and 2014, Kitchee players combined to win the Footballer of the Year award for four straight years. The recipients of this award were Roberto Losada in 2011, Lo Kwan Yee in 2012, Huang Yang in 2013 and Fernando Recio in 2014.

In 2016–17, Kitchee completed a treble for the third time, capturing the Senior Shield, the Hong Kong FA Cup and the Hong Kong Premier League title. The club promoted long time assistant coach Chu Chi Kwong to head coach role and Director of Football. Brazilian attacking midfielder Fernando won the 2017 Footballer of the Year award while striker Sandro won the Golden Boot.

During the 2017 AFC Champions League qualifiers, Kitchee won against Vietnam's Hanoi 3–2 but lost in the playoff rounds to Ulsan Hyundai in penalties.

AFC Champions League debut

The following season, Kitchee directly qualified 2018 AFC Champions League group stage after winning the 2016–17 season league title. To prepare for the competition, the club signed former FIFA World Cup Golden Ball winner, Uruguayan footballer Diego Forlán. Kitchee was drawn in Group E alongside Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol, Korean club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Chinese club Tianjin Quanjin. On 14 March 2018, Cheng Chin Lung scored in stoppage time to secure Kitchee a 1–0 win over Kashiwa Reysol at home, becoming the first team from Hong Kong to win a game in the history of the AFC Champions League group stage. Domestically, Kitchee won the Premier League, FA Cup and the Sapling Cup, completing a treble for the second consecutive season and the fourth in club history.

In 2021, Kitchee signed former Montenegrin international Dejan Damjanović, who won the Golden Boot with 17 goals. ls in his first season with the club. Kitchee won the 2020–21 Hong Kong Premier League title on the final day of the season, beating rivals Eastern 2–0. Kitchee followed up their domestic success by accumulating 11 points in their 2021 AFC Champions League, a record for a Hong Kong club in the competition.

During the 2022 AFC Champions League, Kitchee made history by becoming the first Hong Kong club to advance to the round of 16. However, the club suffered a 4–0 thrashing defeat to Thai club BG Pathum United.

In 2022–23 season, Kitchee completed a treble again by winning the Senior Shield, the Hong Kong FA Cup and the Hong Kong Premier League title.

Club overhaul (2024–present)

During the 2023–24 season, Kitchee went through a complete overhaul which saw the likes of Charlie Scott, Mikael, Cleiton depart. However they have internally hired Portuguese Edgar Cardoso as their new head coach along with several new signings which include former Blackburn Rovers youth academy player Jay Haddow as well as English goalkeeper Fynn Talley, Portuguese winger Luis Machado and Brazilian striker Welthon for the 2024–25 season.

However, the club once again failed to acquire any silverware and after Kitchee's humiliating loss to Hong Kong Premier League rivals Lee Man, the club confirmed Edgar Cardoso's departure and will leave once the 2024–25 season ends.

On 4 July 2025, the club unveiled former Brighton & Hove Albion defender Iñigo Calderón as their newest manager to succeed Edgar Cardoso for the 2025–26 season. On 16 September 2025, Kitchee signed former Spanish international and Real Madrid player, Asier Illarramendi on a free transfer.

Team image

Supporters

Established in 2011, the Blue Wave is the official fans club organised by Kitchee to offer fans with special perks and offers.

Originally a fans-organised cheering group, the Blue Wave became the club's official fans club in 2011, while retaining the name Blue Wave after the reorganisation.

Since its formation, the Blue Wave has become an identity shared by all Kitchee fans as they come to the stadium every match day, cheering and supporting the players on the field.

Stadium

From 2010 to 2012, Kitchee played its home matches at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, which served as the club's home venue during this period. In 2013, the club moved to Mong Kok Stadium in Kowloon with a capacity of 6,664, where it established a long-term home ground and played its matches for the following twelve seasons. Mong Kok Stadium remained Kitchee's principal home venue from 2013 through the 2025 season, hosting the club's domestic league and cup fixtures. However, the club host most of their AFC Champions League home matches at the Hong Kong Stadium as it matches the specific requirements set by Asian Football Confederation standard of the tournament. In 2026, Kitchee returned to Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, marking the club's return to the venue for the first time since 2012. The move restored the stadium as Kitchee's home ground after thirteen seasons at Mong Kok Stadium. Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground has a seating capacity of approximately 3,500 spectators.

Academy development

In 2012, Kitchee Foundation submitted a successful proposal to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for a youth football training centre. The club received over HK$44million from the trust for the establishment of a training ground at Shek Mun, Shatin, New Territories. The Jockey Club Kitchee Centre, as it was later called, opened in 2014. The trust provided 90% of the funding, with the rest coming in part from the proceeds of a Kitchee vs Arsenal exhibition match where they drew 2–2. Apart from serving as the training ground of Kitchee first team and Kitchee Academy, the centre also provides facilities for the Education Bureau-approved Professional Footballer Preparatory Programme, which Kitchee jointly offers with Yan Chai Hospital Tung Chi Ying Memorial Secondary School, in order to integrate football training into regular school curriculum and schedule. In October 2012, Arsenal donated HK$780,000 to Kitchee Foundation in support of the youth training centre.

Since 2009, Kitchee has been a partner of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in its Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement (IPPE) program.

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Players

First-team squad

Out on loan

Retired numbers

Management and staff

Club personnel

Coaching staff

Basic information

Managerial history

Honours

Bold is for those competition that are currently active.

Season by season record

Premier League era

Continental record

AFC competitions

All results list Kitchee's goal tally first.

Asia Football Clubs Ranking

Friendlies and invitational tournaments

All results list Kitchee's goal tally first.

Footnotes

References

External links