Li Zhaorong

The 1934-35 season was Li Zhaorong’s first in Hong Kong’s top league, and in the same year he represented Hong Kong to win the championship at China’s National Games. In 1939, he was invited to join the Sing Tao team. As left inside forward, he was the top scorer of the Hong Kong League in the 1945-46 and 1946-47 seasons for Eastern China and Sing Tao, respectively. During the tour of the Chinese football team to the 1948 London Olympics, Li played only nine games, mainly due to a foot injury. In 1954, he retired from the Kitchee team after having won the championship with three different clubs. Two years later, Li was assistant coach of Hong Kong’s team at the first Asian Cup. Later, he coached the team internationally at the Asian Games and Asian Cup, and domestically the teams of Police and Kitchee SC. Li not only was the first Chinese coach of Hong Kong’s team, but also the first from the British colony to be registered in the United Kingdom. As an official, he became vice chairman of the Hong Kong Chinese Football Association and wrote several handbooks about football.