Li Ngai Hoi (; born 15 October 1994) 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 ...

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 as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

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 Lee Man.

Early career

Li was a student of Yan Chai Hospital Tung Chi Ying Memorial Secondary School and is under their youth football academy scheme with

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 ...

. He also plays for the school's football team.

Club career

Li trained with

English 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 ...

club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

after winning the ''Be A Pro'' competition organised by the club and

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

in August 2011. Li was promoted from the youth system of

in 2010. For the 2011–12 season, he was 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 ...

to gain more playing experiences. On 2 October 2011, Li made his debut for

in the

2011–12 Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield 2011–12 Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield was the 111th season of one of the Asian oldest football knockout competitions, Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield. Starting from this season, the format changed into a two-legged home-and-away ties comp ...

first round first leg away match against

Tuen Mun Tuen Mun () or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the mo ...

. In the 2012–13 season, Li joined

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 ...

on a loan contract for an undisclosed fee. He returned to

at the end of the season. In July 2013, Li joined

China Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

club

Dalian Aerbin Dalian Professional Football Club (), known as Dalian Pro, was a Chinese professional Association football, football club based in Dalian, Liaoning, which mostly competed in the Chinese Super League. Dalian Pro played its home matches at various ...

for trial. Later, Li joined fellow First Division club Southern on a season-long loan from

on 7 August 2013. On 9 January 2018, Li was recalled by Kitchee ahead of their

2018 AFC Champions League The 2018 AFC Champions League was the 37th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 16th under the current AFC Champions League title. Kashima Antlers won the title for t ...

campaign. On 8 February 2021, Kitchee accepted Li's transfer request and stated that they would allow the player to leave immediately. Four days later, it was announced that Li had signed with

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

club

Nantong Zhiyun Nantong Zhiyun Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Rugao, Jiangsu, that competes in . Nantong Zhiyun plays its home matches at the Rugao Olympic Sports Center, located within Rugao. The club was founded on 13 March ...

for a transfer fee of RMB $1 million. He would go on to establish himself within the team and helped the club gain promotion to the top tier at the end of the

2022 China League One The 2022 China League One ( zh, 2022中国足球协会甲级联赛) was the 19th season of the China League One, the second tier of the Chinese football league pyramid, since its establishment in 2004. Format On 12 May 2022, the Chinese Football ...

season. On 28 June 2023, Li made his

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

debut for the club in the match against

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in . Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium, located within Xuhui District. The owner of Shanghai Shenhua is ...

. On 24 July 2023, Li returned to Hong Kong and joined

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 ...

. On 16 January, the club agreed to terminate his contract upon his request to pursue other options. On 29 January 2024, Li joined Lee Man. His move drew the ire of Rangers CEO Philip Lee, who had agreed to terminate Li's contract after the player had originally claimed that he was considering offers from abroad.

International career

On 3 June 2016, Li made his international debut for

in a

2016 AYA Bank Cup The 2016 AYA Bank Cup was a four-nation football tournament hosted in Yangon, Myanmar from 3–6 June 2016. The tournament followed a straight knockout format with Vietnam and Hong Kong facing in the first semi-final and the first match of the ...

match 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 ...

. On 26 December 2023, Li was named in Hong Kong's squad for the

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup was the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It involved 24 national teams after its expansion in 20 ...

Career statistics

Club

LI NGAI HOI
at soccerway.com Retrieved 2020-12-31

International

Honours

Club

;Kitchee *

: 2017–18, 2019–20 *

Hong Kong Senior Shield The Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield (), known commonly as the Senior Shield, is the football knockout inter-club competition held in Hong Kong and the fourth oldest football tournament in Asia. Traditionally, only teams that play in the Hong K ...

: 2018–19 *

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 ...

: 2017–18, 2018–19 *

Hong Kong Sapling Cup Hong Kong Sapling Cup (), currently known as JC Sapling Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a Hong Kong domestic football (soccer), football competition contested by the Hong Kong Premier League teams. The objective of the Cup is to provide more p ...

: 2019–20 ;Lee Man *

: 2023–24

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Ngai Hoi 1994 births Living people Hong Kong men's footballers Hong Kong men's youth international footballers Hong Kong men's international footballers Hong Kong First Division League players Hong Kong Premier League players China League One players Chinese Super League players Hong Kong Sapling players Kitchee SC players Hong Kong Pegasus FC players 21st-century Hong Kong sportsmen Southern District FC players South China AA players Nantong Zhiyun F.C. players Hong Kong Rangers FC players Lee Man FC players Hong Kong expatriate sportspeople in China Hong Kong expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in China Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football defenders Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games Footballers at the 2022 Asian Games 2023 AFC Asian Cup players Asian Games competitors for Hong Kong