Lam Ka Wai (; born 5 June 1985) 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 ...

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and a current

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 ...

coach. He is currently the assistant coach 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 ...

club Rangers. Lam is an AFC B License holder.

Club career

Early career

Lam lived away from his parents and spent his childhood years playing football. During his school life, he showed his talent in soccer. He could complete with high school teammates while aged 15. He was studying in Concordia Lutheran School and he ceased his studies to pursue a footballing career by Secondary 3.林嘉緯回到快樂的17歲
''Ming Pao''. (by Sina.com.hk) 21 February 2009. Lam started his football career at Yee Hope's youth academy. In 2002 he joined Rangers but was loaned to Double Flower on a monthly salary of just HKD$1,500, to train under coach

Chiu Chung Man Chiu Chung Man ( zh, 招重文; born 7 October 1969) is a Hong Kong football manager and former professional footballer. Club career Chiu started his career with Hong Kong side May Ching. In 1988, he signed for South China South China ( ...

.林嘉緯港隊10號仔
''Oriental Daily''. 10 June 2011. In 2003, Lam was loaned further to Kitchee when he was just 17, along with future Hong Kong teammate Chan Siu Ki. In 2004, Lam returned to Rangers and began to impress. He was selected for the Hong Kong national team in 2005 and scored on his debut. Unfortunately, he suffered a severe ankle ligament injury in 2005 and was sidelined for most of the league season.

Kitchee

Lam joined Kitchee in 2008 and, along with fullback Lo Kwan Yee, has been the mainstay of the club for most of the 2010s. Lam's potential as a central playmaker was recognized by head coach Josep Gombau, who selected him to play the pivotal No. 10 role for Kitchee. In June 2010, Kitchee reported to 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 ...

that Fourway Rangers made an illegal approach to his services.

2010–11 season

In the

2010–11 Hong Kong First Division League The 2010–11 Hong Kong First Division League (known as HKFA bma First Division League for sponsorship reasons) season was the 99th since its establishment. The 2010–11 Hong Kong First Division League is contested by 10 teams. The defending ch ...

season, Lam led all local players with 9 goals on the season, including 2 goals against eventual runners-up

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 ...

in a crucial 4-3 away win, and was a key member of the team which won the First Division title by one point. This was the first title for Kitchee in 47 years, gaining the club the rights to play in the 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy and

2012 AFC Cup The 2012 AFC Cup was the ninth edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. Al-Kuwait from Kuwait won their second AFC Cup title in four year ...

. For his efforts, Lam was voted into the Hong Kong Top Footballer Awards Best XI of the 2010-11 season. After the season ended, Lam played in a local soccer game without Kitchee's consent and fractured his fibula, rendering him unavailable in both the 2014 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers (representing

) and the 2011 Premier League Asia Trophy. Lam's vice-captaincy at Kitchee was subsequently suspended.

2011–12 season

On 19 April 2012, Lam received the Monthly MVP award for the month of March from the Hong Kong Sports Press Association, after helping the club win the 2011–12 Hong Kong League Cup. Lam proceeded to win the domestic treble with Kitchee in the 2011-12 season.

2012–13 season

Lam's impact was limited by various injuries throughout Kitchee's 2012-13 campaign, recording only 10 appearances and 1 goal in the league. Despite the second place finish, Kitchee retained their rights to play in the

2014 AFC Cup The 2014 AFC Cup was the 11th edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. Al-Kuwait were the two-time defending champions, but were eliminat ...

through winning the 2012–13 Hong Kong season play-off.

2013–14 season

On 29 July 2013, in an exhibition match against English Premier League giants

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

at the Hong Kong Stadium, Lam scored by curling the ball into the top corner from outside the box on 53 minutes after dribbling past star midfielder

Michael Carrick Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional Association football, football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough. He is considered as one of the best midfield ...

, giving reserve United keeper

Ben Amos Benjamin Paul Amos (born 10 April 1990) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Port Vale F.C., Port Vale. He was capped by England up to England nationa ...

no chance. He also recorded an assist in a 2–5 defeat. In the league season, Lam played a central role and contributed to Kitchee's Invincible season en route to their third title in four seasons. Lam also took part in Kitchee's monumental run to the semi-finals of the

, scoring a goal against Arema Cronus in the Round of 16.

2016–17 season

On 25 January 2017, Lam scored a last-minute winner versus

Hà Nội Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

to lift Kitchee to victory in their 2017 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off match.

2017–18 season

On 26 May 2018, Lam made his final appearance for Kitchee as the club won the 2017–18 Hong Kong FA Cup.

Eastern

After over a decade at Kitchee, Lam signed with fellow

club Eastern on 1 July 2018.

R&F

On 13 January 2020, Lam terminated his contract with Eastern and signed with rivals R&F. The contract is for a half year, with a clause for an automatic extension after seven league appearances. However, after the outbreak of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong The COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong is part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Hong Kong on ...

in 2020, the 2019–20 season was suspended before he could trigger an extension. Thus, on 6 June 2020, Lam revealed that R&F had declined to renew his contract at the club.

Rangers

On 10 September 2020, Rangers' Director of Football Philip Lee declared that Lam would return to the club as a player and a youth team coach. He added that Lam would sign a one-year contract and be given the captain's armband. On 6 April 2024, Lam announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the 2023–24 season.

International career

On 5 March 2005, Lam made his international debut for

in the Preliminary Competition of 2005 East Asian Football Championship against

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. On 1 June 2012, Lam scored the only goal in Hong Kong's friendly win 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 ...

at the Hong Kong Stadium.林嘉緯一錘定音摩帥領港足2連勝
''Wen Wei Po'' 2012年6月2日.

Honours

Club

;Kitchee *

: 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18 * Hong Kong First Division: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14 * Hong Kong Senior Shield: 2016–17 *

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 ...

: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18 * Hong Kong Sapling Cup: 2017–18 * Hong Kong League Cup: 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16 ;Rangers * Hong Kong Sapling Cup: 2023–24

Career statistics

Club

''As of 6 December 2006''

International

References

External links

*
Lam Ka Wai
at HKFA * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lam, Ka Wai 1985 births Living people Hong Kong men's footballers Hong Kong men's youth international footballers Hong Kong men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Hong Kong First Division League players Hong Kong Premier League players Hong Kong Rangers FC players Double Flower FA players Kitchee SC players Eastern Sports Club footballers R&F (Hong Kong) players 21st-century Hong Kong sportsmen Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Hong Kong