Eastern Athletic Association Football Team Limited, also known as Eastern Sports Club (), is a

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

professional

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

whose

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

section competes in the

Hong Kong Premier League The Hong Kong Premier League () is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China. It is currently sponsored by BOC Life and officially known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League (). The inau ...

, the top flight of Hong Kong football.

History

Early history

In 1925, a group of workers from the China Building in Central formed the Chinese Football team. Two years later in 1927, the club changed its name to the Eastern Athletic Association, establishing itself as an all Chinese football club, and entered the Hong Kong Second Division. During the 1931–32 season, Eastern initially won the right to promotion but declined. It was not until the 1936–37 season that the club would make its debut in the

Hong Kong First Division The Hong Kong First Division League () is the second-highest division in the Hong Kong football league system. Established in 1908, it is the third oldest in Asia, after Calcutta and Bombay. Moreover, it is the oldest top-flight league system ...

, finishing 11th.

1940–1990

Eastern won its first trophy in club history in 1940, capturing the Senior Shield in a 2–1 victory over

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

. Success was not permanent at Eastern who were relegated back to the Second Division not long after and did not return until the 1948–49 season. The 1950s saw the first period of sustained success for Eastern. The club won the First Division for the first time in 1955–56 and captured two Senior Shields during this decade. It was also during the 50s when Hong Kong football legend

Lam Sheung Yee Spencer Lam Sheung Yee (; 14 December 1934 – 23 April 2009) was a football defender, coach and announcer, as well as an actor. Spencer was a graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong with an economics major. He was once a secondar ...

signed with Eastern and earned his debut in the First Division. Lam would go on to spend four separate spells at Eastern throughout his career although silverware eluded Lam during those years. In the 1981–82 season the club was managed by former

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

captain and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

winner

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...

. He helped them in winning the 1981–82 Hong Kong Senior Shield, later returned to the club as a manager in August 1982 before departing in March 1983. Notable English players - such as 1966 World Cup winner Alan Ball and

Graham Paddon Graham Charles Paddon (24 August 1950 – 19 November 2007) was an English footballer who played as a midfielder for Coventry City, Millwall, Norwich City and West Ham United. Playing career Paddon was born in Manchester and began his career as ...

- also played for the club in the early 80s. Eastern's ability to attract such players was due to their large budget, funded by billionaire businessman

Peter Lam Peter Lam Kin-ngok, GBS (, born 7 August 1957) is a Hong Kong businessman and billionaire who has developed a reputation in Hong Kong's business, media, and entertainment industry, as well as in Asia's hospitality and food and beverage industrie ...

. The strong squad were able to win two Senior Shields and a

Hong Kong FA Cup Hong Kong FA Cup () is a knockout cup competition in Hong Kong football, run by and named after The Hong Kong Football Association. The first edition of the competition was held in 1975, before then the cup was known as the Golden Jubilee Cup. T ...

in the 80s, however, they were never able to capture the First Division title.

Eastern Dynasty

Following the 1990–91 season, third placed club

Lai Sun Lai Sun Group () is a Hong Kong conglomerate. It was founded by garment billionaire and entrepreneur, Lim Por-yen. Its businesses include property development, real estate investment, hotel, telecom, mass media and entertainment. Lai Sun is wor ...

announced that they would be withdrawing from the First Division. This became the catalyst for Eastern's dynasty in the first half of the 90s as many former Lai Sun players found a home at Eastern. Starting with a runners up finish in 1991–92, the club then dominated Hong Kong football, winning three consecutive First Division titles between 1992 and 1995. During the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, the club won the treble, capturing all three major trophies in both seasons. Unfortunately, due to a massive reduction in sponsorship revenue prior to the 1995–96 season, Eastern had to release many of their top players and were forced to sign younger, less experienced players. A year later, the club were relegated after a last place finish and returned to the Second Division for the first time since 1948.

Relegation and subsequent promotion

In the subsequent ten years following relegation in 1997, Eastern struggled in the league. The club finished at the bottom of the Second Division in 2002–03 and dropped down to the Third Division. They would eventually turn the tide by capturing the Third Division title in 2004–05 and returned to the second tier. Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Eastern were to be demoted to Hong Kong Third Division but the

Hong Kong Football Association The Football Association of Hong Kong, China Limited (HKFA; ) is the governing body of association football in Hong Kong, People's Republic of China. Its current chairman is Eric Fok. History The HKFA was established in 1914. It is one of the ...

intervened and invited the club to compete in First Division League for 2007–08 season. It looked unlikely at first that for the club to obtain sufficient sponsorship to make the move up, however the club confirmed their participation in July 2007. After competing in the top flight for two seasons, Eastern decided to drop into the Third Division ahead of the 2009–10 season due to financial difficulties. After declining the right to promotion twice during their stay in the Third Division, the club finally accepted promotion during the 2011–12 season in which they won all 18 of their league matches and finished as champions. During the 2012–13 season, Eastern was promoted back to the First Division League as the third-place finishers in the Second Division League. They were branded as Eastern Salon from 2012 to 2016 for sponsorship reasons. In April 2016, Eastern won the

2015–16 Hong Kong Premier League 2015–16 Hong Kong Premier League (also known as BOCG Life Hong Kong Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 2nd season of Hong Kong Premier League, the top division of Hong Kong football. Teams A total of 9 teams contested the league ...

under the guidance of Chan Yuen Ting, becoming the first men's professional association football team to win a domestic, top flight championship under the management of a woman. Eastern lost only one game in the 2015–16 season under Chan. In the 2016–17 season, Eastern was branded as Eastern Long Lions for sponsorship reasons. They beat Kitchee 3–1 to win the Hong Kong Community Cup. The club also reached the final of the Senior Shield before losing to Kitchee 2–1 at Hong Kong Stadium. The club went on a season-long unbeaten run in the league until the final match day when they lost to Kitchee 4–1 at Mong Kok Stadium and finished runners up. The season also marked the first time for a Hong Kong club to compete in the group stage of the AFC Champions League. The club's only silverware of the season came from the league playoff, where they beat Southern 3–0 in the final to secure their spot in the second qualifying round of the AFC Champions League the next year.

AFC Champions League debut

Eastern were grouped with Japanese club

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium i ...

, China club

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club (), previously Guangzhou Evergrande (), was a Chinese professional football club based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. Historically, Guangzhou FC played its home matches at various grounds in their home city, most notably at T ...

and Korean club

Suwon Samsung Bluewings The Suwon Samsung Bluewings () are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won the K League on four occas ...

.They finished the AFC Champions League campaign with one point in six matches, finishing in the bottom of their group. Manolo Bleda scored the club only goal in the tournament and also gaining their first ever point in their debut tournament in a 1–1 draw against Kawasaki Frontale at the Mong Kok Stadium.

Recent times

In 2018, Eastern obtained the sponsorship of Top East Holdings, allowing the club to expand its budget. The club launched a program known as Project E in which Eastern will send its most promising young players to train with Portuguese club

Cova da Piedade Cova da Piedade () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Almada, Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Almada, Cova da Piedade, Pragal e Cacilhas. The population in 2011 was 19,904, in an ar ...

. Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Eastern lured reigning Coach of the Year Lee Chi Kin and many of his former players from

Tai Po Tai Po is an List of areas of Hong Kong, area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui () (the original "Tai Po Mark ...

in hopes of returning the club to title contender status. The club were successful in his first season, winning the Senior Shield-FA Cup double, and won the Sapling Cup in his second season. But the club failed to win the league in 2020–21. Lee stepped down as head coach following the season. On 20 June 2024, AFC confirmed that Eastern will participate in the inaugural

2024–25 AFC Champions League Two The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two was the 21st edition of the Asia's second-tier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and first since it was rebranded as the AFC Champions League Two. This was the fi ...

Name history

*1932–2012: Eastern (東方) *2012–2016: Eastern Salon (東方沙龍) *2016–2023: Eastern Long Lions (東方龍獅) *2023–: Eastern SC (東方)

Rivalries

During the 1960s and 70s, the majority of Eastern's funding came from pro-Taiwan backed groups while rivals Happy Valley received sponsorship from pro-China groups. An intense rivalry developed between the clubs during this period and the media referred to the derbies between them as the "Chinese Civil War."

Current squad

First team

^FP ^FP ^FP ^FP ''(on loan from

IK Oddevold IK Oddevold is a Swedish football club located in Uddevalla. The club, formed on 3 July 1932, currently plays in Sweden's second-flight league, Superettan. They play most of their home games at Rimnersvallen and they also have a newly built tr ...

)'' ^FP ^FP ^FP ^FP ^FP Remarks:
^FP These players are registered as foreign players.

Club official

{, class="wikitable" , - !Position !Staff , - , Head coach, ,

Roberto Losada Roberto Losada Rodríguez (born 25 October 1976) is a professional footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. He is currently the Manager (association football), head coach of Hong Kong Premier League club Eastern Sports ...

, - , Assistant coach, , Cristiano Cordeiro , - , Assistant coach, ,

Lo Chi Kwan Lo Chi Kwan (; born 18 March 1981) is a Hong Kong former professional footballer and the current assistant coach of Hong Kong Premier League The Hong Kong Premier League () is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Foo ...

, - , Goalkeeping coach, , Ricardo Navarro , - , Physiotherapist, , Pau MP

Honours

League

**Champions (1): 2015–16 **Runners-up (4): 2014–15, 2016–17, 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

**Champions (4): 1955–56, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95 **Runners-up (2): 1986–87, 1991–92 * Hong Kong Second Division **Champions (1): 1947–48 * Hong Kong Third Division **Champions (3): 2004–05, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12

Cup competitions

Hong Kong Senior Shield The Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield (), known commonly as the Senior Shield, is the football knockout inter-club competition held in Hong Kong and the fourth oldest football tournament in Asia. Traditionally, only teams that play in the Hong K ...

**Champions (12): 1939–40, 1952–53, 1955–56, 1981–82, 1986–87, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2007–08, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2019–20, 2024–25 **Runners-up (6): 1947–48, 1971–72, 2016–17, 2017–18,

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2023–24 *

**Champions (7): 1983–84, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2013–14, 2019–20, 2023–24, 2024–25 **Runners-up (2): 1994–95, 2014–15 *

Hong Kong Sapling Cup Hong Kong Sapling Cup (), currently known as JC Sapling Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a Hong Kong domestic football (soccer), football competition contested by the Hong Kong Premier League teams. The objective of the Cup is to provide more p ...

**Champions (1):

Hong Kong Viceroy Cup Hong Kong Viceroy Cup () was a football competition in Hong Kong held by British American Tobacco. Started in 1969, it was the first football competition in Hong Kong which allowed commercial sponsorship. Together with First Division League, FA ...

**Champions (2): 1970–72, 1980–81 *

Hong Kong Community Cup Hong Kong Community Cup (), formerly known as Hong Kong Community Shield (), was a football super cup competition in Hong Kong played between the winners of the Hong Kong Premier League (previously the Hong Kong First Division League) and the Ho ...

**Champions (1): 2016 **Runners-up (1): 2017

Season-to-season record

{, class=wikitable ! Season ! Tier ! Division ! Teams ! Position ! Home Stadium ! Attendance/G !

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

! Senior Shield !

Sapling Cup Hong Kong Sapling Cup (), currently known as JC Sapling Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a Hong Kong domestic football competition contested by the Hong Kong Premier League teams. The objective of the Cup is to provide more playing opportunitie ...

! League Cup , - , align=center, 2005–06 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, 2 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, Second Division , align=center, 13 , align=center, 9 , rowspan=8 colspan=2 align=center style=background:gray;, , rowspan=2 align=center, ''Did not enter'' , rowspan=2 align=center, ''Did not enter'' , rowspan=10 align=center style=background:gray;, Not held , rowspan=2 align=center, ''Did not enter'' , - , align=center, 2006–07 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, 2 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, Second Division , align=center, 11 , align=center bgcolor=#DDFFDD, 10 , - , align=center, 2007–08 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, align=center, 10 , align=center, 7 , align=center, Semi-finals , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , align=center, Semi-finals , - , align=center, 2008–09 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 13 , align=center bgcolor=#ffcccc, 9 , align=center, First round , align=center, Quarter-finals , align=center, Semi-finals , - , align=center, 2009–10 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, 3 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, Third A Division , align=center, 20 , align=center bgcolor=gold, 1 , rowspan=4 align=center, ''Did not enter'' , rowspan=4 align=center, ''Did not enter'' , align=center style=background:gray;, Not held , - , align=center, 2010–11 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, 3 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, Third A Division , align=center, 19 , align=center bgcolor=gold, 1 , rowspan=2 align=center, ''Did not enter'' , - , align=center, 2011–12 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, 3 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, Third A Division , align=center, 19 , align=center bgcolor=#DDFFDD, 1 , - , align=center,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, 2 , align=center bgcolor=#ffc0a0, Second Division , align=center, 11 , align=center bgcolor=#ddffdd, 3 , rowspan=2 align=center style=background:gray;, Not held , - , align=center, 2013–14 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 12 , align=center, 6 , align=center, Shing Mun Valley Sports Ground

Sham Shui Po Sports Ground Sham Shui Po Sports Ground () is public sports ground located in Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It opened on 9 January 1988. Facilities *1 all-weather, international standard 400-metre running track (8 lanes) *1 grass pitch with flood light ...

Mong Kok Stadium Mong Kok Stadium () is a stadium in Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. With a capacity of 6,664 (comprising four stands of 1,666), it hosts Hong Kong Premier League football matches, with Kitchee SC, Kitchee currently using the venue. The stadium is ...

, align=center, 1,069 , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , align=center, Semi-finals , - , align=center, 2014–15 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, align=center, 9 , align=center bgcolor=silver, 2 , align=center,

Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground (), located in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong, is a multi-purpose sports ground and home of Hong Kong Premier League club Eastern Sports Club, Eastern. It was the main venue for track and field events for the 2009 Hong Kong G ...

, align=center, 960 , align=center bgcolor=silver, Runners-up , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , align=center, Knock-out Stage , - , align=center, 2015–16 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 9 , align=center bgcolor=gold, 1 , rowspan=3 align=center,

, align=center, 1,908 , align=center, Quarter-finals , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , align=center, Semi-finals , align=center, Semi-finals , - , align=center, 2016–17 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 11 , align=center bgcolor=silver, 2 , align=center, 1,923 , align=center, Semi-finals , align=center bgcolor=silver, Runners-up , align=center, Semi-finals , rowspan=9 align=center style=background:gray;, Defunct , - , align=center, 2017–18 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 10 , align=center, 4 , align=center, 1,511 , align=center, Quarter-finals , align=center bgcolor=silver, Runners-up , align=center, Group Stage , - , align=center, 2018–19 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 10 , align=center, 5 , align=center,

Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong Stadium is the main sports venue of Hong Kong. Redeveloped from the original Government Stadium, it reopened as Hong Kong Stadium in March 1994. It has a maximum seating capacity of 40,000, including 18,260 at the main level, 3,173 at ...

, align=center, 1,040 , align=center, First round , align=center, Semi-finals , align=center, Group Stage , - , align=center, 2019–20 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 10 , align=center bgcolor=silver, 2 , align=center,

, align=center, 803 , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , align=center, Group Stage , - , align=center,

, align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 8 , align=center bgcolor=silver, 2 , rowspan=5 align=center,

, align=center, 1,162 , colspan=2 align=center style=background:gray;, Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , - , align=center, 2021–22 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 8 , align=center style=background:gray;, Cancelled , align=center, 1,053 , colspan=3 align=center style=background:gray;, Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic , - , align=center,

, align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 10 , align=center, 4 , align=center, 1,043 , align=center, Semi-finals , align=center bgcolor=silver, Runners-up , align=center, Semi-finals , - , align=center, 2023–24 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 11 , align=center bgcolor=#cfaa88, 3 , align=center, 775 , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , align=center bgcolor=silver, Runners-up , align=center, Group Stage , - , align=center, 2024–25 , align=center, 1 , align=center,

, align=center, 9 , align=center bgcolor=#cfaa88, 3 , align=center, 1,031 , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , align=center bgcolor=gold, Champions , align=center, Semi-finals ''Note'':

Continental record

{, class="wikitable" , - ! Season ! Competition ! Round ! Club ! Home ! Away ! Aggregate , - ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Asian Club Championship The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious cl ...

First round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

Verdy Kawasaki is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club currently competes in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2023. History Founded as Yomiuri Football Club in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most ...

, style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 1–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 1–3 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 2–3 , - , rowspan='2',

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, rowspan='2',

, Kota Ranger , style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 6–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 6–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 12–2 , - , ,

Second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

, style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 1–2 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 3–4 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 4–6 , - , rowspan="3",

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, rowspan="3",

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

, rowspan="3",

Group G Group G may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...

Chonburi FC Chonburi Football Club () is a Thai professional association football, football club based in the city of Chonburi, Chonburi province, that competes in the first division in Football in Thailand, Thai football, Thai League 1, after promotion in t ...

, style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 2–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 1–4 , rowspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 3rd , - , Hà Nội ACB , style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 3–0 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 0–3 , - ,

Kedah FA Kedah Darul Aman Football Club () is a professional football club based in Alor Setar, Kedah. The team competes in the Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League, the second tier of Malaysian football. They are the first team in the history of Malaysian footb ...

, style="text-align:center; background:#ffd;", 3–3 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 0–2 , - , rowspan="3",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, rowspan="3",

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

, rowspan=3,

, style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 0–6 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 0–7 , rowspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 4th , - ,

, style="text-align:center; background:#ffd;", 1–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 0–4 , - ,

, style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 0–1 , style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 0–5 , - ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Qualifying preliminary round 2 , FLC Thanh Hóa , colspan=3 style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 2–4 , - , rowspan=3,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, rowspan=3,

, rowspan=3, Group J , Lee Man , colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 0–1 , rowspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 2nd , - , Athletic 220 , colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 1–0 , - ,

Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the " prefectural capital" for its over 260-year histo ...

, colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 1–0 , - , rowspan=3,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, rowspan=3,

, rowspan=2, Group J , Lee Man , colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 3–1 , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 1st , - ,

, colspan=2 style="text-align:center; background:#dfd;", 3–1 , - , Inter-zone play-off semi-finals ,

Sogdiana Jizzakh Sogdiyona Jizzakh ( Uzbek: ''Soʻgʻdiyona Jizzax Futbol Klubi / "Сўғдиёна" Жиззах Футбол Клуби''), formerly known as Sogdiana, is an Uzbek professional football club based in Jizzakh, that plays in the Uzbekistan Super ...

, colspan=3 style="text-align:center; background:#fdd;", 0–1 , - , rowspan=3, 2024–25 , rowspan=3,

AFC Champions League Two The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC Ch ...

, rowspan=3,

Group E Group E may refer to: * E-Group: E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements * Group E (vase painting), a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style, active between 560 and 540 BC. * On ...

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima () is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Hiroshima. The club competes in the J1 League, top flight of the Japanese football league system. Sanfrecce is one of the most successful clubs in Ja ...

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Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

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Other achievements

1992–93 season

In 1992–93 season, Eastern maintained a record of 9 straight wins in the first half of the First Division League season. The team scored 30 goals in the first 9 matches with no goals conceded. It was a record of 3-zero (0 draw, 0 loss, 0 conceded). Eastern captured 3 trophies in that season, and regained the League Champion title after 37 years.

AFC Champions League

Eastern is the first Hong Kong club to compete in the group stage of the

. Chan Yuen-ting is the first woman to coach a male football club in a top-flight continental competition, when she managed the club in the

2017 AFC Champions League The 2017 AFC Champions League was the 36th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 15th under the current AFC Champions League title. Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Al-Hil ...

match against Chinese side

Head coaches

(卜比·摩亞) (1981–1982) * Peter Wong (黃興桂) (1979–1982, 1988–1990) *

Tsang Wai Chung Tsang Wai Chung () is a former Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the four ...

(曾偉忠) (1996–1998) *

Casemiro Mior Casemiro Mior (born January 12, 1958) is a Brazilian former football manager and former footballer. Playing career During his career as a footballer, he played for Grêmio, Internacional and Internacional de Limeira. He was infamously sen ...

(米路) (2007–2008) *

Chan Hiu Ming Chan Hiu Ming (; born 19 March 1975) is a Hong Kong professional football manager who is currently the head coach of Chinese Taipei. He holds an AFC Pro License and is also a coaching and fitness instructor for the Asian Football Confederation ...

(陳曉明),

Lee Kin Wo Lee Kin Wo (; born 20 October 1967) is a former Hong Kong professional footballer who played as a winger. Lee won the Hong Kong Footballer of the Year award three times during his career. He holds an AFC "A" License. Club career Lee made ...

(李健和),

Lo Kai Wah Lo may refer to any of the following: Arts and entertainment * Comic LO, a Japanese ''lolicon''-focused erotic manga magazine * ''Lo!'', the third published nonfiction work of the author Charles Fort * L.O., a fictional character in the Playhou ...

(羅繼華) (2008–2009) *

(李健和) (2009–2013) * Cristiano Cordeiro (高尼路) (2013–2015) *

Yeung Ching Kwong Yeung Ching Kwong (, born 7 May 1976) is a former Hong Kong professional footballer and a football coach. Managerial career Yeung worked previously as an assistant with Pegasus and South China. In 2015, he served as head coach of Eastern befo ...

(楊正光) (2015) * Chan Yuen Ting (陳婉婷) (2015–2017) * Szeto Man Chun (司徒文俊) (2017–2018) *

(李健和) (caretaker) (2018) * Chan Yuen Ting (陳婉婷) (2018–2019) * Wong Chun Yue (黃鎮宇) (caretaker) (2019) * Andrejs Štolcers (安祖史杜錫) (caretaker) (2019) * Lee Chi Kin (李志堅) (2019–2021) *

(盧比度) (2021–present)

References

External links

* * * {{Hong Kong Premier League

Eastern Athletic Association Eastern Athletic Association Football Team Limited, also known as Eastern Sports Club (), is a Hong Kong professional sports club whose football section competes in the Hong Kong Premier League, the top flight of Hong Kong football. History ...

Association football clubs established in 1932 1932 establishments in Hong Kong