Brighton and Hove Albion Set to Make Waves in Hong Kong

Brighton and Hove Albion Captain Mullins sets sights on retaining HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens title

Captain Jamie Mullins is confident his Brighton and Hove Albion side possess the experience and ability to successfully defend their HKFC Standard Chartered Soccer Sevens title when the 2025 edition of the renowned tournament kicks off at Sports Road this weekend.

The English club claimed the title for the first time last year with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa and will begin the defence of the trophy against Yau Yee League Select on Saturday before facing Yokohama F Marinos and Singapore Football Club in the group phase.

The first two finishers in each of the four groups in the Main Event advance to the knockout rounds, and Mullins believes the Brighton squad possesses the talent and tactical flexibility to set their sights on a run that culminates in victory in Sunday's final. "After the lads did so well last year, we're looking forward to trying to win it again this year," says Mullins, who played at the HKFC Soccer Sevens in 2023 but missed the 2024 triumph due to an ankle injury.

"We've got a good squad. A few of the lads here this year have been here before, so they've a little bit of experience about how the tournament works. We're going to try to play the way we play, so we're not going to change too much. We're just excited to play. "What the lads did so well last year was adapt to each game. You play against different teams from different parts of the world, so each team is set up differently and plays differently, it's learning as you go and playing game-by-game and seeing what happens."

Brighton headline Group C and are one of four English clubs represented in the Main Event, with seven-times champions Aston Villa returning to face Western United from Australia, Macau FA and HKFC Captain's Select in Group A. Group B features Leicester City, AZ Alkmaar from the Netherlands, Hong Kong, China U22s and the Hong Kong Football Club while West Ham United, Larne FC from Northern Ireland, BC Rangers and Singapore Cricket Club line-up in Group D.

The weekend's action kicks off on Friday with the return of the Women's Tournament, which features overseas participants for the first time after the competition made its debut in 2024. Locally based outfits TSL FC, Kitchee and Hong Kong Football Club will be joined by Welsh side Wrexham AFC Women as well as Thailand's Chonburi FC and Eastern Thunder from Singapore.

"Last year was historic, a brilliant tournament," says Yasmin Sung, who led TSL – then known as Chelsea FC Soccer School HK – to last year's title. "I look back on it with a lot of happiness and this year we have teams from overseas coming in, so it's getting bigger and better. "This year is going to be a lot tougher. The teams that have come over are at the top of their leagues but I'm excited to see the standard and to see how we fair against them. And also, to learn as well. The younger girls on our team can learn a lot."

Wrexham captain Lili Jones has set her sights on taking the trophy back to Wales. "We're excited to get going and see what the tournament's all about," she says. "There's no point entering a competition without winning as the main objective. "We've got ways we want to play, and we want to implement that in the games, but we're here to win and hopefully we can do that."

The ever-popular Masters Tournament will also commence on Friday with Singapore Football Club Masters attempting to improve on their runners-up finish last year.

They have been drawn in Group A alongside Kowloon Cricket Club, HKFC Chairman's Select and Singapore Cricket Club Masters while twice champions Wallsend Boys Club HK face Ampcontrol Discovery Bay, HKFC Masters and Yau Yee League All Stars in Group B. Tickets are available on zicket.co.

Free entry for all on May 16 and free entry for children under 5 years old all weekend. Single day tickets cost $180 for adults, $50 for juniors (5-18 years old) per day, and weekend passes are $30.