Project 14 and 26 - Soccer - Developing Leagues Around the World

[PWC2017]

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Story​

Where We Begin

By the summer of 2014, Matthew Manson was 27 years old and living in Hong Kong.

From the outside, his name was not widely known. He was not a former international footballer. He was not a club owner. He did not command headlines. Yet within the corridors of the Hong Kong Football Association, his influence had grown steadily—almost quietly—over four years of work, debate, and persistence.

By then, the HK–Macau Soccer League project was no longer theoretical. It was real, structured, scheduled. What had begun as a development paper in 2010 had evolved into a league system designed to stabilise professional football across the region.

The aim was never short-term success.

It was about foundation.

A stronger league meant better conditions for player development, improved standards for the national team, and—most critically—the creation of professional football clubs that could survive without constant emergency funding.

Before the Plan​

Manson arrived in Hong Kong in 2007, fresh from the UK and without a clear roadmap. Like many expatriates, he moved between jobs—media, communications, administrative roles—learning the rhythms of the city and the realities of working in Asia.

Football was always present, but not yet central.

That changed in 2009, when he was offered an opportunity to join the Hong Kong Football Association. His initial remit was modest and practical:

• Developing English-language media output
• Supporting the website
• Assisting with early social media strategy

It was not a strategic role.

But it placed him close enough to see everything.

A System in Decline​

By 2009, the Hong Kong football league system was in visible trouble.

Clubs folded with alarming regularity. Financial planning was almost non-existent. Stability depended on short-term benefactors rather than long-term models.

There were clear reasons for this:

• No stadium ownership: Most clubs leased government-owned sports grounds, limiting matchday revenue and commercial flexibility.
• Minimal broadcast income: Television deals were weak or non-existent, providing little financial support to clubs or the league.
• Shifting identities: Clubs routinely changed names to reflect sponsors, eroding fan loyalty and community attachment.

There was a structure—but no strategy.

Every element of the league needed improvement, yet no single reform would be enough on its own.

Finding His Voice​

Over time, senior executives at the HKFA began to notice Manson’s perspective.

He was not burdened by precedent. He questioned assumptions others accepted. Where some saw limitations, he saw alignment problems.

Gradually, he was invited into meetings beyond media and communications—discussions about league structure, governance, and development pathways.

He did not arrive with grand speeches.

He arrived with patience.

And with ideas that required time to mature.

A Regional Reality Check​

As Manson immersed himself in the data and the regional context, one comparison became unavoidable.

Hong Kong was falling behind.

Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and mainland China had all begun investing more deliberately in league infrastructure and player development. While none were perfect, each had clearer direction.

Hong Kong, by contrast, had potential—but lacked coherence.

Manson believed that, with the right structural changes, Hong Kong could realistically position itself alongside Singapore and Malaysia over time. Not by copying their systems, but by building one suited to its own geography, economy, and football culture.

That belief would soon become the backbone of a plan.

But in 2009, it was still just that—a belief.

What followed in 2010 would turn belief into proposal.

And proposal into conflict.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 2: The Start of the Football Journey​

The Hong Kong Plan | 2010

The beginning of 2010 marked a quiet turning point for football in Hong Kong—though few recognised it at the time.

Inside meeting rooms and committee sessions, early conversations were beginning to surface about whether the domestic league, as it existed, could continue much longer in its current form. Attendance was inconsistent. Clubs were unstable. Identities shifted with sponsors. Survival depended more on relationships than planning.

It was during this period that the first ideas for a new Hong Kong football league system were tentatively raised.

A League Without Anchors​

The most obvious weakness was control.

Club owners had very little of it.

Most teams operated without:

• A permanent home ground
• Long-term commercial planning
• Independent revenue streams

Clubs moved from stadium to stadium depending on availability. Training facilities were borrowed or shared. Names changed to reflect new investors, often incorporating the sponsoring company directly into the club identity. When that investor left, the club’s name—and often its future—left with them.

Supporters were left disconnected. Loyalty became conditional.

Manson would later describe the system simply:

“Nothing was anchored. Everything floated.”

Early Committee Meetings​

In the first half of 2010, the Hong Kong Football League Committee convened a series of exploratory meetings. Officially, these sessions were about “review.” Unofficially, they were about whether the system could be salvaged without fundamental change.

Matthew Manson, then 23 years old, was present.

At first, he listened more than he spoke.

The room was filled with experience—former players, administrators, long-serving officials. But experience often brought caution. Ideas were discussed carefully, rarely decisively.

As the meetings progressed, Manson began to contribute. Not grand solutions, but questions:

• Why did clubs have no fixed locations?
• Why did identity change so easily?
• Why was professional football spread so thin across so many divisions?

The questions lingered longer than the answers.

The 2010 League Structure​

At the time, the Hong Kong football pyramid was complex and uneven.

• Hong Kong First Division
  • 10 teams
  • Top two qualified for the AFC Cup group stage
  • Bottom two relegated
• Hong Kong Second Division
  • 12 teams
  • One team promoted
  • Two teams relegated to the Third Division
• Hong Kong Third Division
  • A combination of regional leagues and an “A League”
  • Concluded with a Championship playoff
  • Two teams promoted to the Second Division
  • Relegation to a Fourth Division

On paper, it looked comprehensive.
In practice, it was convoluted.

There were not enough genuinely professional clubs in the region to justify four divisions. Standards varied wildly. Clubs moved up and down the pyramid without improving structurally.

Promotion did not equal progress.

The Core Problem​

To Manson, the issue was not competitive balance—it was misalignment.

The league system attempted to mirror much larger football nations without the population, economy, or infrastructure to support it. Semi-professional and amateur clubs were mixed into a structure designed for full-time organisations.

The result was instability at every level.

“A pyramid only works if the base can carry the weight,” Manson noted internally.
“Ours couldn’t.”

A New Task​

By mid-2010, the conversations had shifted.

The HKFA did not yet endorse a new model, but it acknowledged the need for credible alternatives. Manson was tasked with doing what few had attempted before:

To build a compelling, defensible argument for a new league system—one that could realistically launch in 2014.

It would need to:

• Reduce complexity
• Focus on professional clubs only
• Strengthen ownership incentives
• Create permanence rather than churn

The task was not to change everything immediately.

It was to prove that something better could exist.

And with that, Matthew Manson’s football journey in Hong Kong stopped being observational.

It became architectural.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 3: The Initial Idea​

Hong Kong, 2010

Matthew Manson did not arrive in Hong Kong with a plan to redesign its football system.

The idea came quietly—through observation rather than ambition.

In 2010, the Hong Kong domestic league functioned much as it always had: small, sponsor-driven, dependent on short-term funding, and vulnerable to sudden collapse. Clubs appeared and disappeared with uncomfortable regularity. Grounds were rented, not owned. Identities shifted as sponsors came and went. Survival, not development, was the prevailing objective.

To Manson, the problem was not effort or intent.

It was design.

Seeing the System as It Was​

From his earliest internal reviews at the Hong Kong Football Association, Manson recognised a fundamental issue: the league had never been built to thrive. It had been built to exist.

There was no long-term vision for:

• Asset ownership
• League scalability
• Identity permanence
• Financial insulation

The system worked—until it didn’t. And when it failed, it did so quickly.

Manson’s first recommendation to the HKFA was uncomfortable in its simplicity:

If Hong Kong football wanted to develop, it could not continue doing what it had always done.

Incremental changes would not be enough. The league required structural intervention.

The Cross-Border Realisation​

The most immediate constraint was scale.

Hong Kong alone was small. Macau even smaller.

Separate, the two leagues were fragile. Together, they offered possibility.

Manson proposed the idea that would later define the project:
the amalgamation of the Hong Kong and Macau leagues into a single professional system.

It was not a cultural argument—it was a practical one.

Macau, in particular, struggled to sustain even a handful of professional clubs. By combining the two territories, Manson believed it would be possible to support two or three genuine professional clubs in Macau, while strengthening the overall competitive pool.

“Two small leagues competing separately will always fail alone,” he noted.
“One slightly larger system has a chance to stabilise.”

Sixteen Clubs, Not More​

From there, the numbers began to matter.

Manson estimated that Hong Kong and Macau combined could realistically sustain around 16 professional clubs—no more, no less. Expansion beyond that would dilute standards. Fewer would limit opportunity and geographic relevance.

The solution was not a single bloated division, but two compact leagues:

• Two divisions
• Eight clubs each
• Promotion and relegation to create consequence

This structure allowed for:

• Professional standards across all clubs
• Manageable travel
• Consistent scheduling
• Scarcity-driven value

Geography Over Ambition​

Hong Kong’s size worked against romanticism but supported logic.

Manson often compared the territory to Greater London—not in scale of population, but in density of districts. London sustained nearly twenty professional clubs across various levels. Some global, some modest, all rooted in specific areas.

Hong Kong could do the same—on a smaller stage.

Most clubs would not be large. That was accepted. But each could be:

• Fully professional
• District-based
• Socially identifiable

Football, in Manson’s view, worked best when people could say “that is ours”—not “that is sponsored by…”.

Breaking from Sponsored Identity​

This led to one of his most contentious ideas.

Manson argued that sponsored teams were fundamentally unstable. When a sponsor left, identity left with it. History was rewritten. Supporters were asked to start again.

His recommendation was blunt:

• Company names must be removed from club names
• Clubs must be named after:
  • Districts
  • Towns
  • Villages
  • Geographic identity

Sponsors would remain essential—but they would support the club, not define it.

Stadiums as the Missing Piece​

Identity alone was not enough.

Without assets, clubs would always be dependent.

Manson proposed that the league, in partnership with the Hong Kong Government, explore long-term control—if not ownership—of local sports grounds and stadiums. These venues were underutilised and financially dormant.

If clubs could operate them:

• Matchdays became revenue events
• Facilities could be rented year-round
• Football became economically defensible

It was not about profit.
It was about survival.

The Idea Takes Shape​

By the end of 2010, the idea was no longer abstract.

It was a framework:

• Combined leagues
• Two divisions
• Limited, professional clubs
• Geographic identity
• Infrastructure control

It was ambitious, yes—but grounded.

And as Manson would soon learn, the moment an idea stops being theoretical is the moment resistance begins.

But in that first year, in quiet offices and long evenings, the foundations were set.

The league had not yet changed.

But the way it was being understood had.

 

[PWC2017]

THE HK / MACAU FRAME WORK​

The H1–H2 League Framework​

Hong Kong–Macau Professional Football System (Proposed 2010 | Launch 2014)​

Author: Matthew Manson
Role: Strategic Development Officer, Hong Kong Football Association
Year: June 2010

1. Executive Philosophy​

Matthew Manson’s approach to football governance was founded on one principle:

Professional football must function as infrastructure, not entertainment alone.

At 23 years old, Manson viewed Hong Kong football’s primary weakness as structural rather than cultural. The absence of asset ownership, identity clarity, and long-term commercial planning had prevented the domestic game from evolving into a sustainable professional product.

This framework proposes a reset of the professional system, not a reform of the existing model.

2. Strategic Objective​

To launch, by 2014, a stable, cross-border professional football league system combining Hong Kong and Macau, capable of:

• Sustaining full-time professional clubs
• Generating independent commercial revenue
• Qualifying clubs for AFC competition
• Operating without reliance on short-term sponsorship ownership

3. League Structure​

League Names​

• H1 League (Top Tier)
• H2 League (Second Tier)

The naming convention is intentionally functional, reinforcing credibility and seriousness rather than marketing-driven identity.

League Composition​

Each league consists of:

• 8 fully professional clubs
• Total system: 16 clubs

Both leagues operate under identical governance, licensing, and financial standards.

4. Competition Format​

• Double round-robin (home and away)
• Centralized fixture scheduling by HKFA
• No playoff systems
• Sporting merit determines all outcomes

5. Promotion, Relegation & Continental Qualification​

Promotion & Relegation​

• 1 club relegated from the H1 League to the H2 League
• 1 club promoted from the H2 League to the H1 League
• No exemptions, no financial overrides

This limited movement ensures:

• Financial stability
• Long-term infrastructure investment
• High-stakes competition without excessive volatility

AFC Cup Qualification​

• Top two clubs in the H1 League qualify for the AFC Cup

Continental qualification is considered essential for:

• Club prestige
• Player recruitment
• Sponsorship valuation
• Regional relevance

6. Club Identity & Ownership Rules​

Naming Regulations​

• No club may include a business or corporate entity in its official name
• Clubs must be named after:
  • Cities
  • Districts
  • Geographic or cultural identifiers

Sponsors may appear on:

• Shirts
• Training kits
• Stadium signage
• Broadcast graphics

Sponsors may not define club identity.

Ownership Structure​

• Clubs may be privately owned
• Ownership groups must pass HKFA fit-and-proper tests
• Ownership must be long-term in nature
• No single entity may own multiple clubs

7. Infrastructure & Asset Requirements​

Stadium & Matchday Control​

• HKFA and club ownership groups will jointly pursue long-term operational control of local government sports grounds
• Aim: transition venues from rented facilities to revenue-generating assets

Permitted revenue activities include:

• Matchday ticketing
• Food & beverage concessions
• Non-football events
• Facility leasing

Mandatory Training Grounds​

• All clubs must own or control their own training facilities
• Shared or temporary facilities are not permitted for licensing

Training grounds must support:

• First-team operations
• Youth development
• Sports science and medical services

Failure to meet this requirement results in license denial.

8. Financial & Commercial Model​

Centralized Media Rights​

• All broadcast rights centrally negotiated by HKFA
• Single domestic and regional TV deal
• Equal base distribution to all clubs
• Performance-based bonuses

The league is marketed as:

• Compact
• High-quality
• Consistently scheduled
• Cross-border in narrative

Revenue Philosophy​

Clubs are expected to generate income from:

• Media rights distributions
• Stadium operations
• Sponsorship (non-naming)
• AFC Cup participation

Matchday revenue alone is considered insufficient for sustainability.

9. Governance Principles​

The H1–H2 system is governed by five core principles:

1. Clubs are institutions, not advertisements
2. Infrastructure precedes sporting success
3. Scarcity increases competitive and commercial value
4. Centralized governance ensures stability
5. Football must justify its physical and economic footprint

10. Long-Term Vision​

The objective of the H1–H2 League system is not rapid expansion or short-term popularity.

It is to create:

• Permanence
• Professional credibility
• Regional relevance
• Asset-backed football institutions

“We are not building a league to be loved quickly.
We are building one that cannot be ignored in twenty years.”

 

[PWC2017]

Proposed Club Allocation​

H1 & H2 Leagues (Launch Target: 2014)​

H1 League (Top Tier – 8 Clubs)​

These clubs combine historic credibility, existing supporter bases, and immediate AFC readiness.

1. South China Athletic Association​

District: Happy Valley
Rationale:

• Flagship heritage club
• Immediate legitimacy for the new system
• Anchor for AFC Cup qualification credibility

2. Kitchee Sports Club​

District: Kowloon / Shek Kip Mei
Rationale:

• Modern professional standards
• Commercially sophisticated
• Natural title contender

3. Eastern Tseung Kwan O​

District: Tseung Kwan O
Rationale:

• Strong youth development profile
• Expands league into New Territories East
• Modern district identity

4. Southern Aberdeen​

District: Aberdeen / Southern District
Rationale:

• Deep community roots
• Clear district branding
• Strategic coverage of Hong Kong Island South

5. Tai Po Football Club​

District: Tai Po
Rationale:

• Strong local identity
• Proven grassroots support
• New Territories North representation

6. North Sheung Shui​

District: Sheung Shui
Rationale:

• Border-region relevance
• Strategic geographic expansion
• Long-term cross-border commercial potential

7. Kowloon City​

District: Kowloon City
Rationale:

• Dense population base
• Strong youth football tradition
• Central urban presence

8. Macau City​

District: Macau Peninsula
Rationale:

• Cross-border flagship club
• Essential to the HK–Macau system
• AFC Cup narrative enhancer

H2 League (Second Tier – 8 Clubs)​

Designed for growth markets, infrastructure development, and future promotion candidates.

1. Tuen Mun​

District: Tuen Mun
Rationale:

• Large residential population
• Underserved football market
• Ideal for long-term stadium control

2. Tsing Yi​

District: Tsing Yi Island
Rationale:

• Clear geographic identity
• Strong transport connectivity
• High participation potential

3. Yuen Long​

District: Yuen Long
Rationale:

• Established local football culture
• Natural derby with Tuen Mun
• New Territories West coverage

4. Sha Tin​

District: Sha Tin
Rationale:

• Major population centre
• Proximity to training facilities
• Youth and university pipeline

5. Kwun Tong​

District: Kwun Tong
Rationale:

• High-density urban district
• Strong working-class football culture
• Commercial sponsorship appeal

6. Islands District​

District: Tung Chung / Lantau
Rationale:

• Airport city development area
• Government infrastructure focus
• Long-term growth zone

7. Coloane​

District: Coloane, Macau
Rationale:

• Balances Macau representation
• Lower-pressure development club
• Training-ground friendly geography

8. Taipa​

District: Taipa, Macau
Rationale:

• Rapid residential growth
• Youth-focused development model
• Long-term H1 candidate

Why This Works Structurally​

✔ Realism​

• Core legacy clubs included
• No artificial “franchise” names
• District logic aligns with HKFA norms

✔ Geographic Balance​

• Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories, and Macau all represented
• Travel distances remain practical

✔ Infrastructure Logic​

• H2 clubs align with areas capable of new training ground development
• H1 clubs already have access to higher-grade venues

✔ Promotion Narrative​

• Clear future pathways:
  • Tuen Mun, Sha Tin, Yuen Long → H1
  • Coloane / Taipa → Macau flagship elevation

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 4: The View from the Edge​

Kennedy Town, 2010–2011

Matthew Manson had not expected this life.

When he arrived in Hong Kong in 2010, it was meant to be transitional—an early-career appointment, a line on a résumé, a place to learn how football administration actually worked outside of theory. Instead, he found himself living in Kennedy Town, at the western edge of the island, where the city loosened its grip and the sea felt closer than the skyline.

His apartment was small, functional, and permanently sunlit in the afternoons. From the balcony, cargo ships moved slowly across the horizon, indifferent to ambition or planning cycles. It was a good place to think. Too good, perhaps.

The life itself surprised him.

He walked more. Listened more. Spent evenings alone with notebooks rather than people. Hong Kong had a way of compressing experiences—days felt dense, full, but rarely loud. He learned quickly that if you didn’t chase distraction, the city would give you space instead.

A Career That Opened Doors Sideways​

The Hong Kong Football Association did not feel like a grand institution at first. It felt practical. Understaffed. Busy with the present, rarely afforded the luxury of thinking too far ahead.

That was where Manson fit.

He wasn’t there to sell visions. He was there to observe, compare, and diagnose.

Within months, his work began to take him beyond Hong Kong. Not glamorous trips, but necessary ones. Football associations across Asia shared a common trait: they were constantly borrowing from one another, rarely admitting what didn’t work.

He travelled to:

• Thailand, where ambition often outpaced infrastructure
• Mainland China, where scale overwhelmed coherence
• Singapore, disciplined, efficient, and tightly controlled
• Macau, small, political, and quietly constrained
• Taipei, energetic but commercially fragile

Each trip sharpened something in him.

He began to see football less as a sport and more as a system under stress—a test of governance, land use, patience, and credibility.

The Calling Card​

Somewhere between airports and committee rooms, Manson realised something unsettlingly simple:

He could see potential.

Not romantic potential—no belief that football alone could change societies—but structural potential. Where something could be stabilised. Where a foundation could be laid so that failure became harder.

Sometimes in life, you feel like you’ve been handed a calling card, even if no one else sees it yet.

For Manson, this was it.

He wasn’t drawn to expansion or scale. He was drawn to repair.

Hong Kong and Macau: Knowing the Ceiling​

Hong Kong and Macau were honest places to learn this lesson.

They were never going to be large football markets. No amount of branding or passion campaigns would change geography or population. The leagues would always be small. The crowds would always fluctuate. The budgets would always be modest.

And that was precisely why they mattered.

“If it can’t work here,” he wrote in a margin once,
“it won’t work anywhere.”

The goal was never explosive growth. It was stability.

To make sure clubs:

• Owned something
• Planned beyond a season
• Could survive leadership changes
• Weren’t one sponsor away from extinction

If Hong Kong football could be stabilised—made boring, predictable, durable—then it could become a model for places that struggled for the same reasons but on a larger scale.

Living at the Edge​

Kennedy Town suited him because it felt like a boundary.

Behind him was the city—fast, efficient, relentless. In front of him was the water—open, patient, unconcerned with timelines. He often thought about leagues the same way: cities demanded results; water demanded endurance.

In those early years, he didn’t yet know where this path would lead. He had no concept of Project 26, no meetings with global investors, no sense that Hong Kong would one day be something he left behind.

But he knew this much:

He was no longer guessing.

He was learning how systems fail—and how, occasionally, they don’t.

And somewhere in that narrow apartment in Kennedy Town, a young executive began quietly shaping a philosophy that would follow him far beyond the edge of the island.

 

[PWC2017]

NEW CLUB ANNOUNCMENT - 2012

Confirmed Ownership – New Clubs (2013)​

Macau FC​

Ownership: Macau Sports Development Consortium
Key Figures:

• Fong Chi Keong
• Melinda Chan Mei Yi
• David Chow Kam Fai

Tsing Yi FC​

Ownership: Tsing Yi Sports & Infrastructure Consortium
Key Figures:

• Henry Tang Ying-yen
• Hanson Wong

Kwun Tong FC​

Ownership: Kwun Tong Redevelopment Sports Group
Key Figures:

• Norman Lee
• Lee Man Family Interests

Tung Chung FC​

Ownership: Lantau Development Sports Consortium
Key Figures:

• Former Airport Authority & MTR senior executives

Wan Chai FC​

Ownership: Wan Chai Community Sports Consortium
Key Figures:

• Hospitality sector investors
• Professional services partners
• Former Hong Kong Rugby Union administrators

Sai Kung FC​

Ownership: Sai Kung Community Football Trust
Key Figures:

• Former Hong Kong national team players
• Local outdoor sports business owners

 

[PWC2017]

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE​

Hong Kong Football Association​

For Immediate Release
June 2013

Hong Kong Football Association Confirms New Professional League Structure Launching August 2014​

The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) today formally confirms the introduction of a new professional league system, set to commence in August 2014, following four years of strategic planning and development.

The new structure, known as the H1 League and H2 League, represents a significant step forward in the professionalisation, sustainability, and long-term development of football in Hong Kong and Macau.

League Structure​

The system will consist of two fully professional divisions:

• H1 League (Top Tier) – 8 clubs
• H2 League (Second Tier) – 8 clubs

Each club has been licensed under newly introduced HKFA professional standards covering governance, infrastructure, finance, and youth development.

Competition Format​

• The league season will run from August to May
• Each team will play every other team four times
• This results in 28 matches per club per season
• Promotion and relegation will operate as follows:
  • One club promoted from H2 to H1
  • One club relegated from H1 to H2

The top two clubs in the H1 League will qualify for the AFC Cup, subject to AFC licensing requirements.

Broadcast Partnership with TVB​

The HKFA is pleased to confirm a multi-year domestic broadcast agreement with Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB).

Under the agreement:

• Two live matches per week will be televised
• Broadcast platforms:
  • TVB Jade
• Match slots:
  • Saturday – 12:00 PM (Live)
  • Sunday – 7:00 PM (Live)

All broadcasts will feature Cantonese commentary and enhanced production standards aimed at presenting Hong Kong football as a premium domestic sporting product.

Governance & Club Identity​

The HKFA reiterates that:

• Clubs are named exclusively after districts or geographic identities
• Corporate or business names are not permitted in club titles
• All clubs must control their own training facilities
• Clubs operate under long-term venue agreements to ensure financial sustainability

Statement from the Hong Kong Football Association​

“This new league structure represents a fundamental shift in how football is organised and presented in Hong Kong.
The H1 and H2 Leagues are designed to be stable, competitive, and sustainable, with clear pathways for clubs, players, and supporters.
We are confident this system will strengthen domestic football and enhance Hong Kong’s presence on the Asian football stage.”

---

Next Steps​

• Final club licensing confirmations: Early 2014
• Pre-season competition and scheduling announcement: Spring 2014
• Official league kickoff: August 2014

Further details will be released in due course.

Issued by:
Hong Kong Football Association
Communications Department

 

[PWC2017]

League Title Sponsorship Framework (2013–2014)​

Naming Principle​

In line with HKFA regulations:

• Clubs may not carry corporate names
• Leagues may carry title sponsors
• Sponsorship enhances visibility without eroding identity

This mirrors successful European and Asian league models.

Confirmed League Title Sponsors​

HSBC H1 League​

Title Sponsor: HSBC Hong Kong
Designation: HSBC H1 League

Strategic Rationale:

• HSBC’s deep roots in Hong Kong and global football
• Strong alignment with:
  • Professionalism
  • International standards
  • AFC Cup participation
• Enhances league credibility with:
  • Broadcasters
  • Overseas players
  • Asian Football Confederation

Internally, Manson described HSBC’s involvement as
“a signal that the league is institution-grade.”

---

ParknShop H2 League​

Title Sponsor: ParknShop
Designation: ParknShop H2 League

Strategic Rationale:

• One of Hong Kong’s most recognisable consumer brands
• Island-wide physical footprint
• Strong appeal to:
  • Families
  • Local communities
  • Matchday audiences
• Natural fit for a league focused on:
  • Growth districts
  • New clubs
  • Community engagement

ParknShop’s involvement allowed:

• Grassroots activations
• Matchday promotions
• Youth and school football tie-ins

Commercial Impact (Internal HKFA Assessment)​

• Title sponsorship provided:
  • Guaranteed annual revenue
  • Marketing support
  • Media amplification through partner channels
• Reduced reliance on:
  • Owner subsidies
  • Government grants

Crucially, sponsors bought into the league—not individual clubs, reinforcing centralized governance.

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UPDATED PRESS RELEASE​

Hong Kong Football Association​

June 2013 (Addendum)

HKFA Confirms HSBC and ParknShop as Title Sponsors for New Professional League System​

The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) is pleased to announce HSBC Hong Kong and ParknShop as the inaugural title sponsors of the new professional league structure launching in August 2014.

League Sponsorship Designations​

• The top division will operate as the HSBC H1 League
• The second division will operate as the ParknShop H2 League

These partnerships represent a major milestone in the commercial development of domestic football and reflect strong corporate confidence in the league’s long-term vision.

Statement from the HKFA​

“We are proud to welcome HSBC and ParknShop as title partners of the new league system.
Their support reinforces our commitment to professionalism, sustainability, and community engagement, while preserving the independent identities of our clubs.”

---

Sponsor Statements​

HSBC Hong Kong noted its support for a league structure that:

• Promotes regional competition
• Strengthens pathways to Asian football
• Reflects Hong Kong’s international sporting ambitions

ParknShop highlighted its focus on:

• Community-based clubs
• Youth participation
• Accessible, family-oriented football experiences

Broadcast Integration​

Both sponsors will receive:

• Integrated branding across TVB Jade live broadcasts
• Matchday signage
• Digital and community activation opportunities

The HKFA confirmed that two live matches per week will continue to be broadcast:

• Saturday – 12:00 PM
• Sunday – 7:00 PM

Strategic Significance​

The HKFA believes these partnerships ensure the HSBC H1 League and ParknShop H2 League will launch as:

• Commercially credible
• Institutionally stable
• Distinctly Hong Kong

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 5: Fault Lines​

Hong Kong, 2013

By 2013, the work was no longer theoretical.

For three years, Matthew Manson had been able to hide behind frameworks—licensing documents, feasibility studies, stadium audits, financial models. On paper, everything made sense. The H1 and H2 Leagues were sound, defensible, and—by Hong Kong standards—radically disciplined.

But frameworks do not argue back.
People do.

The Owners Who Couldn’t Follow​

The resistance came quietly at first.

Former club owners—men who had kept teams alive through favors, short-term sponsors, and improvised arrangements—began to realize what the new criteria actually meant. The training ground requirement alone was enough to disqualify several legacy sides. Long-term stadium control? Centralized broadcasting? No corporate naming?

For some, it wasn’t reform.
It was exile.

Meetings grew colder. Conversations that once ended with handshakes now ended with silence. A few owners accused Manson of importing “foreign ideas” that didn’t fit Hong Kong. Others framed it as arrogance—too young, too academic, too detached from “how things really worked.”

Manson rarely responded emotionally.

He had learned early that structure feels like punishment to those who benefited from chaos.

“You didn’t fail the criteria,” he told one owner quietly.
“The criteria simply stopped protecting you.”

Some clubs folded before they were officially rejected. Others tried—too late—to assemble land deals and funding that should have been built years earlier. A few appealed politically. None succeeded.

The league would move forward without them.

Central District Evenings​

Manson had moved to a modest flat in Central, close enough to walk home after late meetings at the HKFA or sponsor offices. From his window, Hong Kong never slept—finance, logistics, shipping, capital flowing in and out like tides.

At night, he ran.

Down through the Mid-Levels, past bankers still in suits, past bars where deals were closed in hours that football clubs took decades to understand. He liked Central because it reminded him of the truth: sport was never separate from money—only honest or dishonest about it.

He kept no memorabilia in his apartment. No scarves. No trophies. Just books, documents, and notebooks filled with diagrams—leagues as systems, not stories.

By 2013, he already knew something few around him fully grasped:

Hong Kong was not the destination.
It was the proof of concept.

The Meeting That Changed Direction​

The meeting happened in late spring.

No press. No announcement. No HKFA branding.

A neutral boardroom. Coffee that tasted expensive but forgettable.

BlackRock’s representatives didn’t ask about formations or attendances. They asked about governance risk, infrastructure scalability, and why North America kept failing at football leagues.

Manson didn’t pitch Hong Kong.

He pitched failure.

He spoke about why leagues collapse:

• Too many clubs
• Too much ego
• No asset control
• No punishment for incompetence
• Expansion before stability

Then he spoke about what he had built in Asia:

• Scarcity
• Licensing
• Infrastructure mandates
• Centralized media rights
• Owners who could walk away—but not take the league with them

Only near the end did he mention the idea.

A working title.
Nothing public.
Nothing romantic.

Project 26.

A new North American soccer pyramid, designed backward from sustainability rather than growth. Not chasing Major League Soccer. Not copying Europe. Something colder. Something more permanent.

They didn’t say yes.

They didn’t say no.

They asked when he could come to the United States.

Standing Between Two Worlds​

When Manson left the meeting, he didn’t feel triumph.

He felt distance.

Hong Kong was about to launch something real—HSBC H1 League, ParknShop H2 League, live football on TVB Jade, structure replacing improvisation. But he knew he wouldn’t be there forever to defend it.

That night, walking back through Central, he thought about the owners who hated him, the clubs that didn’t make it, the league that would soon begin without applause.

He was fine with that.

“If they remember me,” he wrote later,
“it will be because something survived after I left.”

By the end of 2013, Matthew Manson was no longer just a football administrator in Hong Kong.

He was a man standing on a bridge—
between Asia’s discipline
and America’s chaos—
preparing to test whether structure could travel.

 

[PWC2017]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2014

Hong Kong Football Association Confirms Launch of the Xtep FA Cup

The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) is pleased to officially confirm the launch of the Xtep FA Cup, a new flagship domestic cup competition that will form a central part of the Hong Kong football calendar from the 2014–15 season onwards.

The Xtep FA Cup will bring together all 18 professional clubs from the newly established H1 League and H2 League, alongside a selected group of 28 semi-professional clubs from across Hong Kong and Macau, creating a truly inclusive competition spanning the full breadth of the region’s football pyramid.

Competition Format and Timeline​

The inaugural Xtep FA Cup will begin in July 2014, with early-round fixtures featuring semi-professional clubs and lower-ranked professional teams. H1 League clubs will enter the competition at a later stage, ensuring competitive balance and opportunities for clubs at all levels.

The tournament will culminate in the Xtep FA Cup Final at Hong Kong Stadium in May 2015, marking the conclusion of the domestic football season and providing a showpiece event for players, supporters, and partners alike.

Strengthening Regional Football​

The introduction of the Xtep FA Cup reflects the HKFA’s commitment to:

• Strengthening competitive pathways between professional and semi-professional football
• Increasing meaningful match opportunities across the season
• Enhancing regional integration between Hong Kong and Macau football

By incorporating clubs from both territories, the competition will also support the broader development objectives outlined within the HK–Macau League framework announced earlier this year.

Commercial Partnership​

The HKFA is delighted to welcome Xtep as the title sponsor of the competition. Xtep’s investment represents a significant commitment to football development in the region and aligns with the Association’s long-term vision for sustainable growth, professionalism, and community engagement.

A New Tradition​

Speaking on the launch of the competition, the HKFA stated:

“The Xtep FA Cup will become a cornerstone of our football calendar. It provides opportunity, aspiration, and visibility for clubs at every level while delivering a compelling competition for supporters. This is about building tradition, not just fixtures.”

Further details regarding the competition format, draw procedures, and broadcast arrangements will be announced in the coming weeks.

Ends

About the Hong Kong Football Association
The Hong Kong Football Association is the governing body of football in Hong Kong, responsible for the organisation, regulation, and development of the game at all levels.

 

[PWC2017]

WIKIPEDIA - JANUARY 2014 - CONFIRMED TEAMS - H1 LEAGUE

	Team	Colours	Stadium	Location	Ownership	Qualification / Relegation
1​	South China AA	RED / WHITE	Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground	8 Fu Hong Street, Siu Sai Wan, Hong Kong	Andy Lo	Qualification to Asia Cup
2​	Kitchee	NAVY BLUE	Mong Kok Stadium	37 Flower Market Road, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China	Ken Ng	Qualification to AFC Cup
3​	Southern Aberdeen	RED	Aberdeen Sports Ground	108 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong	Matthew Wong
4​	Eastern Tseung Kwan O	BLUE	Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground	109 Po Hong Road, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong	Cheng Kai Ming
5​	Tai Po	GREEN	Tai Po Sports Ground	21 Tai Po Tau Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong	Lam Yik Kun
6​	North Sheung Shui	WHITE / RED	North District Sports Ground	26 Tin Ping Road, Sheung Shui, Hong Kong	Chu Ho Yin
7​	Kowloon Bay FC (FORMALLY KOWLOON CITY FC)	RED	Kowloon Bay Sports Ground	1 Kai Lok Street, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong	Wong Siu Kei
8​	Macau FC (NEW CLUB)	GOLD	Olympic Sports Centre	Centro Desportivo Olímpico - Estádio	David Chow Kam Fai	Relegation to H-2 League

 

[PWC2017]

WIKIPEDIA - JANUARY 2014 - CONFIRMED TEAMS - H2 LEAGUE

	Team	Colours	Stadium	Location	Ownership	Qualification / Relegation
1​	Tuen Mun Rangers	BLUE / RED / WHITE	Tuen Mun Tang Shiu Kin Sports Ground	Tsing Chung Koon Road, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong	Peter Mok	Promotion to H-1 League
2​	Tsing Yi (NEW CLUB)	BLACK / WHITE	Tsing Yi Sports Ground	51 Tsing King Road, Tsing Yi, Hong Kong	Hanson Wong / Henry Tang
3​	Yuen Long	ORANGE	Yuen Long Stadium	6 Tai Yuk Road, Yuen Long, Hong Kong	Wilson Wong / Wong Tak Sun
4​	Sha Tin	GREEN / WHITE	Ma On Shan Sports Ground	1 Hang Hong Street, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong	Lam Tai-fai
5​	Kwun Tong (NEW CLUB)	YELLOW / GREEN	Wai Lok Street (NEW STADIUM)	Wai Lok St, Sai Tso Wan, Hong Kong	Norman Lee / Lee MAN
6​	Tung Chung (NEW CLUB)	PURPLE	Wui Tung treet (NEW STADIUM)	Tung Chung, Hong Kong	Lantau Development Sports Consortium
7​	Wan Chai (NEW CLUB)	YELLOW / RED	Wan Chai Sports Ground	Wan Chai, Hong Kong	Wan Chai Community Sports Consortium
8​	Sai Kung (NEW CLUB)	LEOPARD PRINT	Sai Kung Tang Shiu Kin Sports Ground	41 Fuk Man Road, Sai Kung, New Territories, Hong Kong	Sai Kung Community Football Trust

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 7: A Different Continent, A Different Clock​

The North American Conversation

The discussions that would later shape Project 26 did not begin with certainty.

They began with contradiction.

By late 2013, and accelerating into 2014, Matthew Manson found himself in a series of conversations that felt fundamentally different from anything he had experienced in Hong Kong or Macau. Where Asia had been about stabilising something fragile, North America posed the opposite challenge: restructuring something powerful but misaligned.

The stakeholders were larger. The geography was vast. The politics were complex.

And the timelines were longer.

Early Introductions​

Initial discussions involved representatives from BlackRock, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the Canadian Soccer Federation (CSF), Major League Soccer (MLS), and the United Soccer League (USL).

There was no single room. No single table.

Instead, the conversations unfolded across cities, conference calls, private briefings, and exploratory white papers. Each organisation came with its own priorities, its own fears, and its own red lines.

Manson was not presenting a finished solution.

He was testing whether a shared future was even possible.

The Core Realisation​

Very quickly, one truth became unavoidable:

North America could not be fixed quickly.

Unlike Hong Kong and Macau—where consolidation and efficiency were essential—the United States and Canada required patience. The scale alone demanded it. Hundreds of markets. Multiple ownership models. A closed-league tradition deeply embedded in American sport.

If Hong Kong required compression, North America required expansion with structure.

Manson’s proposal ran counter to the instinct for rapid growth.

He argued for a 10-year foundational plan—not built around immediate commercial upside, but around alignment, standards, and long-term sporting credibility.

“If you rush this,” he warned, “you’ll build something impressive that collapses under its own weight.”

A New Pyramid Philosophy​

The vision was not simply about adding divisions or creating new leagues.

It was about creating a true pyramid, one that:

• Respected existing investments
• Established clearer pathways between professional tiers
• Raised minimum standards gradually rather than immediately

Promotion and relegation were discussed—but not promised.

This was not ideological reform. It was pragmatic sequencing.

The Calendar Question​

One of the most contentious elements of the proposal was also one of the most symbolic:
the football calendar.

Manson believed that, long term, North American football would need to transition toward a European-style calendar—running from late summer through spring.

The reasons were structural rather than romantic:

• Better alignment with global transfer windows
• Improved integration with international competitions
• Greater credibility within the global football ecosystem

The resistance was immediate.

Climate. Travel. Tradition. Television.

Yet the idea lingered, not as a demand—but as a destination.

“You don’t change the calendar in year one,” Manson acknowledged.
“You build toward a moment when it makes sense.”

Looking South, Not Just East​

Another unconventional element of the plan involved CONMEBOL.

Rather than positioning North American football exclusively in opposition to Europe, Manson explored the possibility of a deeper competitive and commercial relationship with South America.

The logic was straightforward:

• Shared time zones
• Cultural football alignment
• Competitive intensity often missing in domestic North American play

Discussions included:

• Cross-confederation competitions
• Calendar harmonisation windows
• Youth development exchanges

It was not about leaving CONCACAF.

It was about expanding relevance.

Caution from Power​

MLS and USL approached the conversations carefully.

Both leagues had grown significantly, but neither wanted destabilisation. Owners had invested under specific assumptions—chief among them, the absence of relegation.

Manson understood this.

His plan did not threaten the present.

It questioned the future.

BlackRock’s interest, meanwhile, was structural. Long-term. Patient capital aligned naturally with a 10-year horizon. Where federations thought in cycles and leagues thought in seasons, institutional investors thought in decades.

That alignment mattered.

A Different Kind of Challenge​

If Hong Kong had taught Manson how to fix something broken, North America forced him to confront something more difficult:

How do you change a system that is successful, but not yet complete?

There would be no quick wins here. No immediate transformation.

Only groundwork.

And the understanding that this project—unlike anything before it—would demand time, trust, and a willingness to accept that the most important changes would not be visible for years.

The conversations continued.

And with them, the quiet realisation that this was no longer about leagues.

It was about redefining an era.

 

[PWC2017]

Chapter 8: Westward​

Leaving Hong Kong

The decision to leave Hong Kong was not sudden.

But the moment itself felt abrupt.

At 27 years old, Matthew Manson packed his life into a handful of suitcases and closed a chapter that had defined his entire twenties. Hong Kong had been where his career began, where his ideas first took shape, and where his identity had quietly formed. Leaving meant more than changing cities.

It meant letting go of familiarity.

Friends he had built relationships with over years—shared meals, late conversations, moments of frustration and optimism—were now reduced to farewell drinks and promises to stay in touch. The city that had once felt overwhelming now felt impossibly small as he prepared to leave it behind.

The work was unfinished.

But the next stage required distance.

Arrival in the Desert​

Las Vegas could not have been more different.

The humidity and density of Hong Kong gave way to dry air, wide roads, and a horizon that felt almost confrontational in its openness. The scale was unsettling. Everything required a car. Silence existed in ways it never had before.

Manson settled into The Martin, a modern high-rise just off the Strip. It was clean, efficient, anonymous. A temporary anchor in a city defined by impermanence.

From his balcony, the lights of Las Vegas shimmered every night—artificial, relentless, indifferent.

It did not feel like home.

Not yet.

Starting Again​

The first few months were about adjustment.

Simple things required recalibration:

• Driving instead of walking
• Planning days around distance
• Understanding American work rhythms and expectations

At times, the isolation was sharp. He was single, new to the country, and without the informal network that had sustained him in Hong Kong.

There were moments of doubt.

But there was also clarity.

This was not a detour.

It was the point.

Between Cities​

His weeks quickly fell into a rhythm shaped by travel.

Regular flights to New York, where Major League Soccer headquarters became a familiar setting—conference rooms, structured agendas, carefully measured conversations.

Then to Florida, where meetings at USL headquarters carried a different energy: more fluid, more entrepreneurial, less guarded.

Every week brought a contrast:

• New York’s intensity and institutional weight
• Florida’s optimism and appetite for growth

Las Vegas sat in between—a neutral ground where ideas could breathe.

Manson was learning quickly that American soccer was not one conversation. It was many, running in parallel, sometimes aligned, often not.

Learning the Country​

Outside of meetings, he began to observe the country itself.

The scale of the United States was not theoretical—it was physical. States felt like nations. Markets behaved differently. Football meant different things in different places.

In Hong Kong, football was about survival.

In the US, it was about definition.

What was the sport trying to be?

That question echoed through every meeting.

Alone, But Not Lost​

At night, back in The Martin, the quiet returned.

There were no familiar streets to walk. No local café where people knew his name. Just the glow of the city and the weight of what lay ahead.

Yet beneath the uncertainty was something steadier.

Purpose.

The move had stripped away comfort, but it had sharpened focus. This was a blank slate—personally and professionally.

“If I can build something here,” he reflected,
“it won’t be because of momentum. It will be because it’s right.”

Hong Kong had taught him how systems fail.

America would test whether they could be rebuilt.