Steve1872 4 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Hong Kong, 13 March 2014 - Hong Kong; March 13, 2014: Premier League sides Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Sunderland, and Scottish giants Rangers will be among the teams challenging holders Leicester City (pictured above) at this year’s HKFC Citibank Soccer Sevens. The 15th edition of the tournament will be held from May 23-25 at Hong Kong Football Club, host venue since the inaugural event in 1999. Chelsea will compete for only the second time after making their debut two years ago, while the six other British clubs competed last May, when Leicester beat 2012 champions Newcastle 2-0 in the Cup final. Most of the British clubs will be fielding players between the ages of 17 to 21 as they bid to win a tournament that each year features future Premier League and international stars. Aston Villa have won the event a record five times. Despite the array of Premier League clubs on display, Leicester City Academy Director Jon Rudkin said the club are keen to defend their Cup title as they make a third straight appearance in Hong Kong. “It’s a terrific tournament to be involved in and we’re delighted to be coming back to defend the title in 2014. Winning the Cup last year was a fantastic achievement for the players involved,” Rudkin said. “Having won the Shield the previous year, to go on and win the Main tournament in only our second appearance was a feat everyone at the club was extremely proud of. The players involved in both visits learned a great deal about the format from the first time and used that experience with real intelligence when we came back last year.” Rudkin and his young charges hope they’ll be part of a newly promoted club by the time they head for Hong Kong, with Leicester’s first team currently leading England’s second-tier Championship. “It will be a very good test for our young players in a very intense environment and I’m sure it will be another valuable learning experience for them,” Rudkin said. “We have a lot of faith in our young players, who have shown in the last two years that we’re very capable of competing while playing some exciting football.” Mark Allen, Manchester City’s Head of Academy, said the Blues are looking forward to building on their debut last year, when they were knocked out in the Cup quarter-finals by Rangers and lost to Aston Villa in the Shield final. “I thought it was a fantastic experience. It was well organised and well coordinated, and equivalent to any top tournament I’ve been to. It was a pleasant surprise that it was so well organised,” Allen said. “I thought the format was fantastic and it was also great from the development perspective as well. We’re all really looking forward to coming back.” Weber Lo, Citi Country Officer and Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong and Macau, said the confirmation of seven leading British clubs signalled the tournament’s growing reputation. “We’re delighted that Leicester City are back to defend their title at the HKFC Citibank Soccer Sevens as we also welcome back Manchester City, Chelsea, Rangers, Sunderland and former champions Aston Villa and Newcastle,” Lo said. “It’s exciting to announce seven such major clubs so early and it’s recognition of the tournament’s world-class reputation that these teams keep returning to Hong Kong Football Club. Citibank is proud to title sponsor such an international tournament in Asia for the fourth year, and we look forward to another great and exciting tournament this May.” Citibank has title sponsored the event since 2011 and other sponsors this year include British Airways, Nike, Aegon and The Excelsior hotel. The remaining sides in the 16-team Main competition and the line-up of the 12-team Masters competition will be announced soon, while ticket details will be announced in April. The tournament will start with the opening round of Masters pool games on Friday evening, May 23. All the Main group matches and the remaining Masters pool games are held on the Saturday before the knockout stages for both competitions take place on Sunday. Future stars who have competed in the Main competition include Gabriel Agbonlahor, Glen Johnson, Marc Albrighton, David Bentley, Anton Ferdinand, Sammy Ameobi and Shaun Maloney. The Masters tournament has featured former England internationals Peter Beardsley, John Barnes, Chris Waddle, Teddy Sheringham, Des Walker, Andy Cole and Matt Le Tissier, German legends Jurgen Klinsmann and Pierre Littbarski, former France winger Didier Six and Finnish icon Jari Litmanen http://www.hksoccersevens.com/news/item/man-city-chelsea-among-leicester%E2%80%99s-challengers-2014 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 That's a potential trip! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Would be good if our Hong Kong correspondent Super_Ally could send us reports from the tournament! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve1872 4 Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Hong Kong Rangers SC @HongKongRangers 2h “@alexrae1969: Not long before I hook up with this lot to challenge for @hksoccer7s #champs pic.twitter.com/h34mPYvycE” We can't wait! #2inarow 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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