Li Ngai Hoi

In this Chinese name, the family name is Li.

Li Ngai Hoi (Chinese: 李毅凱; Jyutping: lei⁵ ngai⁶ hoi²; born 15 October 1994) is a Hong Kong professional footballer who currently plays as a centre back for Hong Kong Premier League club Lee Man.

Li Ngai Hoi
李毅凱

Personal information
Full name	Li Ngai Hoi
Date of birth	(1994-10-15) 15 October 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Hong Kong
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s)	Centre back Left back
Team information
Current team	Lee Man
Number	13
Youth career
2006–2010	Kitchee
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2020	Kitchee	47	(3)
2011–2012	→ Hong Kong Sapling (loan)	10	(0)
2012–2013	→ Pegasus (loan)	4	(0)
2013–2014	→ Southern (loan)	8	(0)
2014	→ Shenyang Zhongze (loan)	0	(0)
2015	→ South China (loan)	1	(0)
2016–2018	→ Pegasus (loan)	13	(0)
2021–2023	Nantong Zhiyun	39	(1)
2023	Rangers	4	(2)
2024–	Lee Man	0	(0)
International career‡
2011	Hong Kong U-18
2012	Hong Kong U-20	1	(0)
2014–2015	Hong Kong U-23	4	(0)
2016–	Hong Kong	13	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 January 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

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. He also plays for the school's football team.^[2]

Club career

Li trained with English Premier League club Aston Villa after winning the Be A Pro competition organised by the club and Nike in August 2011.^[3] Li was promoted from the youth system of Kitchee in 2010. For the 2011–12 season, he was loaned to Hong Kong Sapling to gain more playing experiences.^[4] On 2 October 2011, Li made his debut for Hong Kong Sapling in the 2011–12 Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield first round first leg away match against Tuen Mun.^[5]

In the 2012–13 season, Li joined Pegasus on a loan contract for an undisclosed fee.^[6] He returned to Kitchee at the end of the season. In July 2013, Li joined China Super League club Dalian Aerbin for trial. Later, Li joined fellow First Division club Southern on a season-long loan from Kitchee on 7 August 2013.

On 9 January 2018, Li was recalled by Kitchee ahead of their 2018 AFC Champions League campaign.^[7]

On 8 February 2021, Kitchee accepted Li's transfer request and stated that they would allow the player to leave immediately.^[8] Four days later, it was announced that Li had signed with China League One club Nantong Zhiyun for a transfer fee of RMB $1 million.^[9] 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 season.^[10] On 28 June 2023, Li made his Chinese Super League debut for the club in the match against Shanghai Shenhua.

On 24 July 2023, Li returned to Hong Kong and joined Rangers.^[11] On 16 January, the club agreed to terminate his contract upon his request to pursue other options.^[12]

On 29 January 2024, Li joined Lee Man.^[13] 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.^[14]

International career

On 3 June 2016, Li made his international debut for Hong Kong in a 2016 AYA Bank Cup match against Vietnam.

On 26 December 2023, Li was named in Hong Kong's squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of matches played 8 July 2023^[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Kitchee	2015–16	Hong Kong Premier League	9	0	0	0	1[a]	0	8	0	4[b]	0	22	0
	2016–17		2	0	1	0	0[a]	0	–		0[c]	0	3	0
	2017–18		6	0	1	0	0[a]	0	5	0	0[c]	0	12	0
	2018–19		15	0	2	1	2[a]	1	5	1	3[d]	0	27	3
	2019–20		13	1	1	0	0[a]	0	0	0	6[c]	1	20	2
	2020–21		2	2	0	0	0[a]	0	0	0	0[c]	0	2	2
	Total		47	3	5	1	3	1	18	1	13	1	86	7
Hong Kong Sapling (loan)	2011–12	Hong Kong First Division	10	0	0	0	1[a]	0	–		0[e]	0	11	0
Pegasus (loan)	2012–13		4	0	1	0	0[a]	0	–		–		5	0
Southern (loan)	2013–14		8	0	0	0	2[a]	0	–		–		10	0
Shenyang Zhongze (loan)	2014	China League One	0	0	0	0	–		–		–		0	0
South China (loan)	2014–15	Hong Kong Premier League	1	0	0	0	0[a]	0	4	0	0[e]	0	5	0
Pegasus (loan)	2016–17		7	0	0	0	0[a]	0	–		3[c]	0	10	0
	2017–18		6	0	0	0	1[a]	0	–		3[c]	0	10	0
	Total		13	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	0	20	0
Nantong Zhiyun	2021	China League One	22	1	1	0	–		–		–		23	1
	2022		16	0	1	0	–		–		–		17	0
	2023	Chinese Super League	1	0	1	0	–		–		–		2	0
	Total		39	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	42	1
Career total			122	4	9	1	7	1	22	1	19	1	179	8

1. Appearances in Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield
2. 3 Appearances in HKFA League Cup, 1 Appearances 2015–16 Hong Kong season play-off
3. Appearances in Hong Kong Sapling Cup
4. 2 Appearances in Hong Kong Sapling Cup, 1 Appearances in Hong Kong Community Cup
5. Appearances in HKFA League Cup

International

As of matches played 26 March 2024

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Hong Kong	2016	2	0
	2017	2	0
	2018	0	0
	2019	1	0
	2020	0	0
	2021	0	0
	2022	0	0
	2023	3	0
	2024	4	0
Total		12	0

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	3 June 2016	Thuwunna Stadium, Myanmar	Vietnam	2–2	2016 AYA Bank Cup
2	6 June 2016	Thuwunna Stadium, Myanmar	Myanmar	0–3	2016 AYA Bank Cup
3	23 March 2017	King Abdullah II Stadium, Jordan	Jordan	0–4	Friendly
4	9 November 2017	Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong	Bahrain	0–2	Friendly
5	14 December 2019	Busan Gudeok Stadium, Busan, South Korea	Japan	0–5	2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
6	28 March 2023	Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Johor, Malaysia	Malaysia	0–2	Friendly
7	17 October 2023	Changlimithang Stadium, Thimphu, Bhutan	Bhutan	0–2	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round
8	16 November 2023	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Iran	0–4	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round
9	1 January 2024	Baniyas Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	China	2–1	Friendly
10	14 January 2024	Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	United Arab Emirates	1–3	2023 AFC Asian Cup
11	23 January 2024	Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Palestine	0–3	2023 AFC Asian Cup
12	26 March 2024	Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan	0–3	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Honours

Club

Kitchee

• Hong Kong Premier League: 2017–18, 2019–20
• Hong Kong Senior Shield: 2018–19
• Hong Kong FA Cup: 2017–18, 2018–19
• Hong Kong Sapling Cup: 2019–20

Lee Man

• Hong Kong Premier League: 2023–24

References

1. www.the-afc.com https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/teams/2023/afc_asian_cup/hong-kong-china. Retrieved 14 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
2. (in Chinese)董之英變身學界巴塞贈呂明才九蛋 Oriental Daily. 11 October 2010.
3. (in Chinese)劉學銘李毅凱維拉學法 Oriental Daily. 14 May 2011.
4. 傑志狙擊「魚腩」港菁誓再下一城 Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Hong Kong Daily News. 25 September 2011.
5. (in Chinese)康寶高級組銀牌首圈首回合 港菁教頭：入球遲早來 Apple Daily. 3 October 2011.
6. "太陽飛馬顯活力 12/13昂首創高峰". Sun Pegasus FC. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013.
7. "傑志主場首戰對手欲組國腳級防線 全北汽車向江蘇蘇寧提出借洪正好". Upower. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018. (in Chinese)
8. Gao, Si Kei (8 February 2021). "傑志挽留不果 李毅凱投中甲 成一年內第二名北上港將". HK01. Retrieved 8 February 2021. (in Chinese)
9. "牛年开鸿运！中国香港球员李毅凯加盟南通支云". HK01 (in Simplified Chinese). 8 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
10. 足球报：南通支云冲超计划提前一年实现 (in Chinese). sports.sina.com.cn. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
11. "毅凱回流加盟流浪助戰亞冠外 李輝立稱對方盼返港向港足證明實力". Ming Pao. Retrieved 24 July 2023.(in Chinese)
12. "港隊守將李毅凱 亞洲盃表現受賞識 與流浪解約擬投新東家". Sing Tao. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.(in Chinese)
13. "放棄內地聘約 李毅凱自由身加盟理文". Sportsroad. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.(in Chinese)
14. "流浪半季後執位 大炒北區五球 林衍廷：重新認識吓隊友". inmediahk. 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.(in Chinese)
15. "中國香港代表隊 – 決選名單" [Hong Kong, China Team – Finalists]. Hong Kong Football Association (in Chinese). 26 December 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
16. LI NGAI HOI at soccerway.com Retrieved 2020-12-31

External links

• Li Ngai Hoi at Soccerway
• Li Ngai Hoi on Instagram