Li Ka Chun (; born 10 September 1993), nicknamed Lali, 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 fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

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 currently plays for

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 ...

club Metro Gallery.

Club career

Born in

during British reign, Li was spotted by

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 ...

as a 13 year old during a youth football development programme he was attending during the summer. He progressed well through the youth ranks, earning places in the Hong Kong national youth setup, and a trial with then-

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 ...

side

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in 2010. In July of the same year, along with fellow Kitchee teammate Ngan Lok Fung, he traveled to Spain to participate in youth training events organised by

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

side CF Amposta, the former club of his then-manager,

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 ...

. In June 2011, he was loaned to

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

(at the time known as TSW Pegasus FC), who were also competing in the

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 ...

, the top level of football in Hong Kong before the introduction of the Premier League in 2014. In October 2011, he scored his first goal in the Senior Shield, the fifth of a 5–0 win over the

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

. In July 2012, he returned to Rangers. However, after two seasons without fully breaking into the first team, he left for

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

in June 2014. Only two months later, he was sent out on loan to

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 ...

. He scored his first goal in the Premier League on 4 October, in a 1–2 defeat by

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang Wa ...

. In July 2015, having been demoted to Eastern's reserve team, he joined Metro Gallery on loan. He scored his first goal in the

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 ...

, a consolation in a 1–3 defeat by

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 ...

. Li returned to Eastern ahead of the 2016–17 season and was given the number 18 shirt. He made his debut for Eastern in a 7–0 victory over

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 ...

, providing an assist for teammate

Lee Hong Lim Lee Hong Lim (, born 29 September 1983) is a former Hong Kong professional footballer who played as a left winger. He is the brother of former professional footballer Lee Wai Lim. Early age Lee and his brother, Lee Wai Lim grew up in Sha Tau ...

. On 12 February, he scored his first goal for the club, the sixth of a 7–1 victory over R&F FC in the Sapling Cup. He scored against the same opposition in his second league game on 5 March; the fourth goal in a 4–0 victory. On 11 July 2017, it was revealed that Li's contract with Eastern was not renewed. On 26 July 2017,

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

confirmed that they had signed Li. On 13 May 2018, Li captained Dreams on his final match of his career, having previously announced his retirement at the end of the season.

Personal life

As well as football, Li also acts, and played a supporting role in a stage performance of

Tin Hong Tin Hong (天航, born on 17 December 1980) is a Hong Kong author living in Taiwan. He has created more than 30 personal works that were widely distributed in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. His major works include the ''REPLAY★AMOEBA Series'' a ...

's ''The Love Story on Gentlemen Street'', organised by his club,

References

External links

*
Li Ka Chun
at HKFA {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Ka Chun Living people 1993 births Hong Kong men's footballers Hong Kong men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders Hong Kong Premier League players Kitchee SC players Hong Kong Pegasus FC players Hong Kong Rangers FC players Eastern Sports Club footballers Metro Gallery FC players 21st-century Hong Kong sportsmen Tai Po FC players Hong Kong Sapling players