Lee Wai Tong (; 16 October 1905 – 4 July 1979) was a Hong Kong and Chinese international

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player,

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

, and former Vice President of

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. He is often regarded as the greatest Chinese footballer, due to his accomplishments in winning several

Far Eastern Games The Far Eastern Championship Games (also known as the Far Eastern Championships, Far Eastern Games or Far East Games) was an Asian multi-sport event considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games. History In 1913, Elwood Brown, president o ...

titles with the national team of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

as well as captaining the national football squad on a 13-year unbeaten run in competitive games from 1923 to 1936, a streak that ended at their first ever Olympic tournament (held in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

). This was also followed by having an extremely successful club career as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

with the Hong Kong club

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 ...

where he won eight league titles with them, helping establish the club as the most successful team in the territory's history at the time. After his retirement, he moved into management where he guided the national men's football team of the Republic of China (which later played as Taiwan and Chinese Taipei) to win the

1954 Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games (), officially known as the Second Asian Games – Manila 1954, were a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines, from May 1 to 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in ...

. Lee, nicknamed the "King of Asian football", was said to have scored at least 1,260 goals during his 25-year playing career, although some would claim that this figure may have been closer to 2,000.

Early life

Lee Wai Tong was born in

Tai Hang Tai Hang () is an area southeast of Causeway Bay located in the mid-north of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is home to many luxurious private apartments. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professiona ...

, Hong Kong, just outside the city, as the third child to a construction firm owner before he moved back to his parents home of Ng-Wah County in Mei-Chow,

Kwangtung ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, China at the age of four. His father was born in Hong Kong while mother was , from Hsiang-Shan, Kwangtung Province (now

Zhongshan Zhongshan ( zh, c=中山 ), alternately romanized via Cantonese as Chungshan, is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is n ...

). It was there that he was informally taught how to play football until he moved back to Hong Kong and was formally trained at

Queen's College, Hong Kong Queen's College () is the first public secondary school founded by the British colonial government in Hong Kong. It was initially named The Government Central School () in 1862 and later renamed Victoria College () in 1890, and finally obtain ...

Playing career

Club career

Lee left school early initially to help his father's construction company before he joined

South China AA South China Athletic Association (known simply as South China, SCAA, ) is a Hong Kong professional sports club with a football team competing in the Hong Kong First Division League, Hong Kong First Division, the second-tier league in Hong K ...

, a Hong Kong top division team, as a youth player in 1922. He rose through the ranks quickly, and by 1923, he already had graduated to the senior team where he quickly showed himself as being a highly talented striker. Lee then helped the club win the

1923–24 Hong Kong First Division League The 1923–24 Hong Kong First Division League season was the 16th since its establishment. Overview South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of Ch ...

title. His international reputation was solidified when he was able to retain the Far Eastern Championship Games Gold medal in the 1925 championship held in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

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. These successful tournaments saw him reported as the greatest Chinese footballer at the time by the Chinese media. After these successes Lee returned to China and joined

Fudan University Fudan University (FDU) is a public university, national public university in Yangpu, Shanghai, Yangpu, Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and is co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal ...

in Shanghai as an athletic director. This allowed him the opportunity to join Loh Hwa, a gregarious team who were built from

St. John's University, Shanghai St. John's University (SJU) was a Christian university in Shanghai. It was founded in 1879 by American missionaries. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Communist government closed the university in 1952. Most of its facul ...

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is a public university in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 98 ...

, University of Shanghai,

Jinan University Jinan University ( ; JNU, zh, 暨南大学) is a national public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is managed by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The university is part of the Double First-Class ...

and his own Fudan University sports team where they predominantly played in local and regional championships because they offered the only annual competitions within China during the amateur era. In 1931, Lee returned to South China and won the

1932–33 Hong Kong First Division League The 1932–33 Hong Kong First Division League season was the 25th since its establishment. League table References1934–35 and 1935–36 league titles, which was the first time they were able to retain the title. After the Olympic Games, his football career was cut short by the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Initially, Lee continued with his club career with South China until Hong Kong was also occupied by the Japanese. Lee was able to escape to Kwangtung (Guangdong) and joined the

Chinese Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four services— Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force—and four arms— Aerospac ...

where he spent the war playing exhibition games to raise money for the war effort. He was promoted to major general within the sports division before returning to South China after the war. After spending several seasons with the club he retired in 1948 at the age of 43.

International career

In May 1923, at the age of 17, Lee was called up to the China national team to represent them in the football tournament of the 1923 Far Eastern Championship Games held in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Despite still being a minor, his prolific goalscoring at club level earned him a place on the team and marked the start of an illustrious career which lasted for the next twenty years. In the last match of the tournament, Lee scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 5–1 win over

on 24 May, at the age of 17 years and 217 days, thus becoming the youngest ever hat-trick scorer in an international competition, a record that still stands and only

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

came the closest to breaking it (17 years and 241 days). China won the championship and Lee was considered the young stand-out star of the tournament. In the following edition in 1925, Lee scored five goals; a brace against Japan and a hat-trick against the

, thus contributing decisively in China winning its 6th title of the competition. As captain of China, his team would go on a 13-year unbeaten run in competitive games from 1923 to 1936. Lee captained Chine to their first ever Olympic tournament in 1936, which was held in

, making them the first Asian nation, alongside Japan, to take part in that tournament. Lee would, however struggle to see his nation participate in their first truly worldwide tournament when the Chinese government could only give 170,000 from the required 220,000 yuan the team needed to get to the Berlin Olympics. China played a series of exhibition games against

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 ...

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 ...

, the

Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, Burma (Myanmar) and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to gain the necessary funds for the trip. The team would reach their target and Lee would captain the side against

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in the last 16 within the tournament. In total, Lee played 13 matches for the China national team scoring 13 goals.

Management career and the AFC

Lee Wai Tong's first coaching experience came while he was still a player and he took a job with Fudan University while he played for Loh Hwa. With him also captaining the Chinese side and the team not having any permanent coach Lee would manage the side for the 1934 Far Eastern Championship Games, which he also played in as China won the tournament. In 1948 the China national team reappointed Lee as coach, this time for the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

. On a self-financed training course in the

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, he took the team away for three months while they prepared for the trip to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. At the tournament, China faced

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in the first round and lost 4-0. After the defeat Lee returned to China in the middle of the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

and did not coach until after the conflict. By then his team had been split into two, the Republic of China team (later renamed Chinese Taipei as the team was unable to use China in the FIFA membership) and the People's Republic of China team (which is ). In 1954 Lee decided to join the ROC team as their first permanent coach and lead them to win the

. He would continue to coach the team at the

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games () and commonly known as Tokyo 1958 (), were a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A total of 1,820 athletes repr ...

where he guided the team to win the tournament once more by beating

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

3–2 in the final. Along with his stint as coach, Lee was elected as a Secretary-General of the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

in 1954. In 1965 he became the Vice President of

, being the first ethnic Chinese person to reach that position.

Honours

Player

South China *

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 ...

: 1923–24, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41 VBO Batavia * Dutch East Indies Championship:

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/indiechamp.html#30 Republic of China *

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

Manager

Republic of China *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

References

External links

''Li Huitang, o Rei do Futebol da China''
(Li Huitang, China's king of football)
世界球王——李惠堂
Li Huitang world star
translation

* ttp://ahalftimereport.com/2015/05/23/lee-wai-tong-the-king-of-football/ ''Lee Wai Tong: The King of Football''(Lee Wai Tong: "The King of Football") (English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Wai Tong 1905 births 1979 deaths Chinese men's footballers Hong Kong men's footballers Chinese football managers Hong Kong football managers Taiwanese football managers China men's international footballers Chinese Taipei national football team managers Chinese Taipei men's international footballers from Hong Kong Men's association football forwards Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Hong Kong people of Hakka descent People from Wuhua Olympic footballers for China South China AA managers Hakka sportspeople 1960 AFC Asian Cup managers Alumni of Queen's College, Hong Kong South China AA players