Hong Kong Sapling Cup
Association football tournament in Hong Kong From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hong Kong Sapling Cup (Chinese: 菁英盃), currently known as JC Sapling Cup (Chinese: 賽馬會菁英盃) for sponsorship reasons, is a Hong Kong domestic football competition contested by the Hong Kong Premier League teams. The objective of the Cup is to provide more playing opportunities for youth players.
| |
| Founded | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Region | Hong Kong |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Current champions | Rangers (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Kitchee (2 titles) |
 2024–25 Hong Kong Sapling Cup | |
HK$120,000 reward goes to the winners, with the runners-up getting HK$60,000. The two other losing semi-finalists receive HK$30,000. The remaining teams get HK$15,000. The best under-22 player from each team gets HK$3,000, and player of the tournament earns an additional HK$5,000.[1] The current Sapling Cup holder is Rangers.
Competition name and rules
Summarize
Perspective
| Season | Name | Logo | Format | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Henderson Sapling Cup
(Sponsorship from Henderson Land Development) |
Participating teams are divided into two groups for a single round-robin tournament.
Top two advance to the semi-finals. |
Each team must have no fewer than two players under the age of 21 and no more than six foreign players at any time. | |
| 2016–17 | R&F Properties Sapling Cup
(Sponsorship from R&F Properties) |
Participating teams compete in a single-elimination tournament. | ||
| 2017–18 | Sapling Cup
(No sponsorship) |
Participating teams are divided into two groups for a single round-robin tournament.
Top two advance to the semi-finals. |
Each team must have no fewer than two players under the age of 22 and no more than four foreign players at any time. | |
| 2018–19 | ||||
| 2019–20 | The participating teams are divided into two groups for a double round-robin tournament.
Top team in each group advances to the final. |
Each team must have no fewer than three players under the age of 22 and no more than four foreign players at any time. | ||
| 2020–21 | Participating teams are divided into two groups for a double round-robin tournament.
Top two advance to the semi-finals. | |||
| 2021–22 | Participating teams compete in a double round-robin tournament. | |||
| 2022–23 | JC Sapling Cup
(Sponsorship from Hong Kong Jockey Club) |
 |
Participating teams are divided into two groups for a double round-robin tournament.
Top two teams advance to the semi-finals. | |
| 2023–24 | | |||
| 2024–25 | Participating teams are divided into two groups for a single round-robin tournament.
Top two advance to the semi-finals. |
Finals
Key
| * | Match went to extra time |
| † | Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time |
Results
| Season | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Pegasus | 1–1 † | South China | Mong Kok Stadium | 2,150 |
| 2016–17 | Tai Po | 2–1 | Pegasus | Mong Kok Stadium | 2,956 |
| 2017–18 | Kitchee | 2–1 | Tai Po | Hong Kong Stadium | 2,165 |
| 2018–19 | Lee Man | 3–2 * | Yuen Long | Mong Kok Stadium | 2,685 |
| 2019–20 | Kitchee | 3–1 | Southern | Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground | 0[1] |
| 2020–21 | Eastern | 2–0 | Happy Valley | Mong Kok Stadium | 2,243 |
| 2021–22 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong | ||||
| 2022–23 | Southern | 2–0 | Lee Man | Mong Kok Stadium | 2,519 |
| 2023–24 | Rangers | 1–0 | Kitchee | Mong Kok Stadium | 3,769 |
| 2024–25 | Mong Kok Stadium | ||||
Notes
- ^ Match was played behind closed doors due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Hong Kong.[2]
Performance by teams
| Team | Winners | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchee | 2 | 2019–20 | 1 | 2023–24 |
| Pegasus | 1 | 2015–16 | 1 | 2016–17 |
| Tai Po | 1 | 2016–17 | 1 | 2017–18 |
| Lee Man | 1 | 2018–19 | 1 | 2022–23 |
| Southern | 1 | 2022–23 | 1 | 2020–21 |
| Eastern | 1 | 2020–21 | – | – |
| Rangers | 1 | 2023–24 | – | – |
| South China | – | – | 1 | 2015–16 |
| Yuen Long | – | – | 1 | 2018–19 |
| Happy Valley | – | – | 1 | 2020–21 |
Players record
Most appearances
- As of the end of 2023–24 season
| Rank | Player | Apps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Shu Sasaki |
48 |
| 2 |  Lam Ka Wai |
42 |
| Yu Wai Lim | ||
| 4 | Tomas Maronesi |
41 |
| Stefan Pereira | ||
| 6 | Leung Kwun Chung |
40 |
| Cheng Tsz Sum | ||
| Wong Chun Ho | ||
| Cheng Chin Lung | ||
| 10 | Chan Hoi Pak |
39 |
| Lau Hok Ming | ||
| Wu Chun Ming |
Bolded players still playing in Hong Kong Sapling Cup.
Top scorers
- As of the end of 2023–24 season
| Rank | Player | Goals | Apps | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Pereira | 30 | 41 | 0.73 |
| 2 |  Mikael | 19 | 33 | 0.58 |
| Everton Camargo | 19 | 36 | 0.53 | |
| 4 | Lucas Silva | 17 | 21 | 0.81 |
| Juninho | 17 | 32 | 0.53 | |
| 6 | Mahama Awal | 15 | 36 | 0.42 |
| Shu Sasaki | 15 | 48 | 0.31 | |
| 8 | Sandro | 14 | 17 | 0.82 |
 Travis Major | 14 | 19 | 0.74 | |
| 10 | Wellingsson de Souza | 13 | 29 | 0.45 |
| Sun Ming Him | 13 | 32 | 0.41 | |
Bold denotes players still playing in the Hong Kong Sapling Cup.
See also
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.