Albion To Make Soccer Sevens Debut In Hong Kong

Brighton & Hove Albion are delighted to announce their debut appearance at this summer’s HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens at Hong Kong Football Club - an annual seven-a-side tournament that kicks off on Friday 18th May.

Simon Rusk will select a squad of ten players from his under-23 squad for the three-day event in Hong Kong, which sees 16 teams from around the world compete against one another on pitches that are 90 metres in length and 55 metres in width.

The competition begins with a league structure - four groups of four teams - before moving into the knockout stages, where the teams will be whittled down until a winner of the Soccer Sevens is crowned.

Albion will be joined by last year’s winners Leicester City, and also three other English clubs - Aston Villa, West Ham United and Newcastle United - who all compete in the Premier League 2.

The Seagulls will also be joined by various teams from around the world, with the likes of Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Rangers, Hong Kong FC and PSV Eindhoven having competed in the tournament over recent years.

Albion’s academy manager John Morling said, “Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are honoured to be invited to the prestigious HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens.

“All the staff and players are looking forward to coming to what will be a brilliant experience both on and off the pitch.

“We’re looking forward to a totally different experience, playing Sevens against some of the world’s best teams, which will benefit our players’ development in their ambition to become senior professional footballers in the Premier League.”

Tournament director Chris Plowman also added, “We’re delighted to announce three more teams from the English Premier League for the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens for 2018, and we are particularly excited to announce a debutant for this year’s event.
 
“Premier League newcomers Brighton & Hove Albion will be making their first appearance at the event, and it will be great to see the Seagulls fly at Sports Road in May.”