James Ha
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James Stephen Gee Ha (, born 26 December 1992), nicknamed Bullet, is a former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a striker. Born in England, he represented the
Hong Kong national football team The Hong Kong national football team (; recognised as Hong Kong, China by FIFA) represents Hong Kong in international association football, football and is controlled by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China, the governing body for foot ...
. Ha was awarded Best Youth Player of Hong Kong in the 2010–11 season and best midfielder of
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 ...
in the 2018–19 season.


Early life

Ha was born in
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
, England in 1992 into a family of English and
Hongkongese Hongkongers (), Hong Kongers, Hong Kong citizens and Hong Kong people are demonyms that refer to a resident of Hong Kong, although they may also refer to others who were born and/or raised in the territory. The earliest inhabitants of Hon ...
heritage. Ha moved to Hong Kong where his Hongkongese father resided and grew up on
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...
at an early age. 起飛前 跑, Page 28–29, Keymansoho, June 2011足球 – 高速夏志明獲南美球會賞識
i-Cable, 2 May 2011
Ha reportedly had always taken an interest in football, ever since a young age. He attended The Salvation Army Ann Wyllie Memorial School for primary education. And for high school education he attended St. Joseph's College for two years, but later transferred to St. Joan of Arc, but not for long. As Ha decided it was best to start year 12 at
South Island School South Island School is a private international school founded by the English Schools Foundation of Hong Kong, located at 50 Nam Fung Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong, with about 1,400 students enrolled and 107 teachers. Students come from diverse b ...
in 2009, in which he represented the school team as an
attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
. During these years he was also selected by Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation football team for the 36th Asian Schools Football Championship.


Club career


Early career

Ha had started playing for reserves matches of
Kitchee Kitchee Sports Club (; ; ) is a Hong Kong professional Association football, football club based in Kowloon. It was founded in 1931 and currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. The club has won 12 List of Hong Kong football champion ...
since joining Kitchee academy in 2007. He left Kitchee academy to
Shatin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The ne ...
when he was 16, but he had no debut in the club. Ha entered
Fourway Athletics Metro Gallery Football Club () is a Hong Kong football club which currently competes in the Hong Kong Second Division. History The team began as Fourway Athletics (), it joined Hong Kong First Division in 2008–09 season as a competition mem ...
a year later but did not have much success. He joined
HKFC Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC; ), established in 1886, is a private members' club in Hong Kong. The name reflects the origin as a club for playing association football and rugby. The club is situated in Happy Valley, with the sports pitches ...
before the 2010–11 season of Hong Kong First Division League. On 4 September 2010, He made his first division debut in the opening match of HKFC which drew
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 ...
1–1. In the League Cup game on 8 January 2011, he scored his first goal in formal match on the 19th-minute and Hong Kong FC defeated NT Realty Wofoo Tai Po by 2–1 lastly. In January 2011,
Kitchee Kitchee Sports Club (; ; ) is a Hong Kong professional Association football, football club based in Kowloon. It was founded in 1931 and currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. The club has won 12 List of Hong Kong football champion ...
signed Ha with a 1.5-year-long contract after dealing with Hong Kong FC, but Ha would continue to play in Hong Kong FC until the end of the 2010–11 season.


Kitchee

While Ha was playing in the youth tournament Mediterranean Cup as a member of Kitchee's youth academy in Spain in April 2011, Paraguayan club
Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...
approached him about playing for them in the
Paraguayan Primera Division Paraguayans () are the citizens of Paraguay. Though the majority of Paraguayans reside in Paraguay, significant communities have been established in multiple countries, most noticeably Argentina, Spain, United States, Brazil. History The first ...
. But he concerned about playing so far away from home and rejected the offer finally. The first appearance of Ha in Kitchee is the training match against
Hong Kong national football team The Hong Kong national football team (; recognised as Hong Kong, China by FIFA) represents Hong Kong in international association football, football and is controlled by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China, the governing body for foot ...
in
Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground () is a multi-purpose stadium in Siu Sai Wan, Hong Kong. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It occupies about 43,000 square metres and its construction cost over HK $230 million. Opened in December 1996 ...
on 16 July 2011 for Kitchee and Hong Kong prepared
2011 Barclays Asia Trophy The 2011 Premier League Asia Trophy was the fifth edition of the Premier League Asia Trophy. Chelsea, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Hong Kong club Kitchee competed for the title on 27 July 2011 and 30 July 2011 in Hong Kong Stadium. The winner ...
and
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...
. His first formal appearance is in a semifinal match of the 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy against Chelsea in
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 ...
on 27 July 2011. Ha was sent to the field in the 82nd-minute to replace
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 ...
, and Kitchee lost the game by 4 goals. After the rejection of Guaraní's offer and the postpone of Ha's university study, the new first division team for
2013 East Asian Games The 2013 East Asian Games, officially known as the VI East Asian Games, was an international multi-sport event that took place in Tianjin, China, between 6 October and 15 October 2013. 2,422 Athletes from nine East Asian nations competed in 254 eve ...
has founded and James was called up by the long-term training section.香港2013東亞運長期集訓隊名單公佈
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 ...
, 9 August 2011
甲組新軍空降代淦源
, Tai Kung Pao, 10 August 2011
Kitchee general manager Ken Ng asserted in what a choice depended on Ha and head coach
Josep Gombau Josep Gombau Balague (born 5 June 1976) is a Spanish professional football manager. He is a former Barcelona youth team coach and has held multiple positions at the club's youth academy. Career Born in Amposta, Tarragona, Catalonia, Gombau w ...
and Ng would make a decision after summer training in Spain. Finally, although Ha was not loaned to
Hong Kong Sapling Hong Kong Sapling Football Club () was a Hong Kong football club, which since 2020 does not compete in the Hong Kong football league system. History On 11 August 2011, Mutual withdrew from the Hong Kong First Division League due to financial pro ...
, he also left Kitchee in the short term to study in the United Kingdom.


Trials in Europe

In November 2011, Ha was in the United Kingdom playing for amateur side Salisbury City, which is owned by Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung. Kitchee said they would not stand in his way if Yeung's Birmingham City decides to recruit him. On 8 November 2011, Birmingham City reserves lost to a couple of late goals in a private friendly at
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...
. Ha made a substitute appearance.Reserve report: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Birmingham City 0
Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...
, 9 November 2011
Ha returned to Hong Kong in January 2012 for
Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...
celebration and ended the two months training but Birmingham City abandoned him after the holidays.飛馬vs傑志 港甲榜首大戰
Apple Daily ''Apple Daily'' ( zh, t=蘋果日報, j=ping4 gwo2 jat6 bou3) was a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai and part of Next Media, ''Apple Daily'' was known for its sensational headlines, ...
, 12 February 2012
In accordance with
Dani Cancela Daniel "Dani" Cancela Rodríguez (; born 23 September 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Born in Spain, he spent most of his career with Kitchee in Hong Kong after signing in 2010, eventually going on to repre ...
's suggestion, Kitchee sent Ha to
Sevilla Atlético Sevilla Atlético is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1950, it is the reserve team of Sevilla FC, Sevilla. It plays in and holds home games at the Ciu ...
for further training. Lamentably, he returned to Hong Kong in early April 2012.


Back To Kitchee

After a year of academic study and trial in Europe, Kitchee general manager Ken Ng announced that Ha would be back to Kitchee in 2012–13 season.


Southern

After spending several years on loan from Kitchee, Ha transferred to Southern where he played there for seven seasons before he was released in 2022. He then retired from professional football.


International career


2010–11

In 2010, 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 ...
decided to play Ha in an age group above his age. Ha was just 17 when he played for the
Hong Kong national under-23 football team The Hong Kong Olympic Football Team (also known as Hong Kong under-23 or Hong Kong U-23) represents Hong Kong in international football competitions in the Olympic Games, the Asian Games, as well as any other under-23 international football tour ...
at the exhibition matches against Guangdong under-23 team in 2010. His outstanding performance in those two exhibition matches gave rise to that he can be the regular player of Hong Kong under-23 team. Ha was called up to the under-23 squad for the first formal game for their friendly against
Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...
on 24 January 2011. He scored his under-23 international goal in the match two days later against Chinese Taipei too. For the first preliminary round of 2012 Summer Olympics against
Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
, he was sent to the field by head coach
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 ...
both two matches and he scored a total of four goals. He was also named in the under-23 list squad for second preliminary round of 2012 Summer Olympics against
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
, but did not feature in the first leg at the Uzbek stadium, which lost by a goal. Before the second leg, some
media in Hong Kong Hong Kong's media consists of several different types of communications of mass media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, websites and other online platforms. Overview Hong Kong is home to many of Asia's biggest media entities ...
claimed that Ha was the 'secret weapon' of Hong Kong team. In the second leg, Hong Kong astonishingly opted defending formation and caused two losing goals to put Uzbekistan 2–0 up in 20 minutes. Ha replaced
Au Yeung Yiu Chung Au Yeung Yiu Chung (; born 11 July 1989), commonly known as Au Chung, is a former Hong Kong professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Au Yeung studied at Yan Chai Hospital Tung Chi Ying Memorial Secondary School in Sha ...
in 34th-minute as winger and played as target man in second half. However, in a match in which Hong Kong was generally regarded as having underachieved and Uzbekistan won 3–0 on aggregate, he was widely considered one of the few successes of the Hong Kong under-23 squad.


2011–12

In August 2011, HKFA formed the long-term training section for
2013 East Asian Games The 2013 East Asian Games, officially known as the VI East Asian Games, was an international multi-sport event that took place in Tianjin, China, between 6 October and 15 October 2013. 2,422 Athletes from nine East Asian nations competed in 254 eve ...
and Ha was selected by the association. For the preparing of the games, Ha would be sent to a new first division league team consisting of members of the training section. At last, Ha did not be listed by
Hong Kong Sapling Hong Kong Sapling Football Club () was a Hong Kong football club, which since 2020 does not compete in the Hong Kong football league system. History On 11 August 2011, Mutual withdrew from the Hong Kong First Division League due to financial pro ...
and stayed in Kitchee. After the Europe trial of Ha, new
Hong Kong national football team The Hong Kong national football team (; recognised as Hong Kong, China by FIFA) represents Hong Kong in international association football, football and is controlled by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China, the governing body for foot ...
coach
Ernie Merrick Ernest Merrick Order of Australia, OAM (born 15 January 1953) is a Scottish-Australian coach, who last managed A-League soccer club Newcastle Jets FC, Newcastle Jets. He was released on 6 January 2020. He was the former head coach of the Hong Ko ...
selected Ha for the friendlies against
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
due to absent
Chan Siu Ki Chan Siu Ki (; born 14 July 1985) is a Hong Kong professional footballer who plays as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer for the Hong Kong national team with 37 goals. Club career Early career Chan was spotted by the management of Tai ...
and
Godfred Karikari Godfred Karikari (; born 11 March 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in Ghana, he represented the Hong Kong national football team. Early life Karikari was born to an affluent family in Ghana. He was a fast ...
. In June 2012, Ha was chosen by Merrick for under-23 team to 2014 AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualification in Laos. He played the opening match of the Hong Kong team as a substitute but Hong Kong lost the game by 2–3.


2017–18

On 5 October 2017, Ha made his international debut for
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 ...
in a friendly match against
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
.


Honours


Individual

* Best Youth Player:
2010–11 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 ...


Career statistics


Club

:''As of 19 May 2021'' 1Including 2 games in
2012 Hong Kong–Shanghai Inter Club Championship The 2012 Hong Kong–Shanghai Inter Club Championship was held on 1 November and 10 November 2012. The first leg will be played at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong, with the second leg taken place at Yuanshen Sports Centre S ...
.


International


Hong Kong U-23

:''As of 3 July 2012''


Hong Kong


International goals

:''Scores and results list Hong Kong's goal tally first.''


Personal life

Ha has lived on
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...
for a long time and he loves playing football for leisure in Victoria Park,
Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...
. He thinks there are many top players in Victoria Park and he learnt a lot of skills and a sense of soccer in the park. Recently, Victoria Park has always been closed for special events, so he goes to the park at a lower frequency now. Besides football, Ha is a
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
footballer, and won the HKFSS Inter-School Rugby Competition in 2011.夏志明手足都咁醒
The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
, 23 March 2011
Ha is the owner of
Scene 852 Productions Scene (from Greek ') may refer to: General * Scene (performing arts), a part of the story held in a single location * Scene (perception), a set of information that can flow from a physical environment into a perceptual system via sensory transd ...
, a new media company of creators in Hong Kong.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ha, James 1992 births Living people Footballers from Middlesbrough Hong Kong men's footballers Hong Kong men's youth international footballers Hong Kong men's international footballers English men's footballers English people of Hong Kong descent Hong Kong people of English descent British Asian footballers Men's association football wingers Hong Kong First Division League players Hong Kong Premier League players Hong Kong FC (football) players Kitchee SC players Sun Hei SC players Southern District FC players 21st-century English sportsmen