Fukien Athletic 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 ...

multi-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 ...

, best known for its

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 ...

team. Its football club currently plays in the Hong Kong Third Division.

History

Fukien Athletic Club was founded in 1925. At the early period, the club was funded by Chinese businessman and philanthropist

Tan Kah Kee Tan Kah Kee (; also spelled as Chen Jiageng; 21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) was a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist active in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Xiamen, and Guangzhou. A prominent fig ...

, who heralded from

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, as well as by group of Fujian immigrants. The club entered the

Hong Kong football league system Association football is the most popular sport in Hong Kong, followed by rugby union. The Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) is the governing body for football in Hong Kong. History The first football club of Hong Kong is Hong K ...

in 1930. In 1990, Fukien won their first trophy, capturing the Junior Shield. The club won their first league title nine years later, winning the Hong Kong Third A Division for 1998–99. Three years later, Fukien won the 2001–02 Hong Kong Second Division title and were promoted into the top flight for the first time. Despite having a lower budget than most of their peers, Fukien pulled off several upsets 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 ...

including a 2–1 victory of Happy Valley in 2004. During this period, the club were managed by future Kitchee head coach Chu Chi Kwong and featured players such as

Chiu Chun Kit Chiu Chun Kit (, born 4 October 1983) is a Hong Kong former professional footballer who played as a centre back. International career Chiu made his international debut for Hong Kong on 14 November 2012 against Malaysia. He replaced Cheng Siu ...

Wong Chin Hung Wong Chin Hung (; born 2 March 1982) is a Hong Kong former professional footballer who played as a left back. He is currently the head coach of Hong Kong Premier League club Rangers. Club career Instant-Dict Wong played at hard grounds at lu ...

and Chu Wai Lam. Following a second from the bottom finish in 2004–05, Fukien were relegated to the Second Division. In 2009–10, the club fell to the Third Division after a second last place finish. During the 2016–17 season, Fukien finished fourth in the table and were promoted to the Second Division. The following season, in 2017–18 season, the club finished at the bottom of the table and were promptly relegated back to the Third Division.

Honours

League

* Hong Kong Second Division **Champions (1): 2001–02 * Hong Kong Third A Division **Champions (1): 1998–99

Cup competitions

* Hong Kong Junior Shield **Champions (3): 1989–90, 2000–01, 2006–07

References

External links

Fukien
at HKFA {{Hong Kong Third Division League teamlist Basketball teams in Hong Kong Football clubs in Hong Kong Hong Kong Third Division League Association football clubs established in 1925 1925 establishments in Hong Kong