Hong Kong e-football team withdraw from eAsian Cup over incorrect team name

Hong Kong’s football governing body said it regretted to announce the decision to withdraw from the AFC eAsian Cup 2023 after the video game failed to correctly display the team name of “Hong Kong, China”. 

In a statement released on Thursday, the Football Association of Hong Kong, China said no satisfactory solution could be found to resolve the issue despite “days of negotiation with the organizer”. 

The HKFA said it first learned on Monday that the Konami’s eFootball™ 2024 gaming application, adopted by the tournament, is unable to correctly display the team name of “Hong Kong, China”. 

“As such, based on the guidelines and advice from the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, we have informed AFC our decision to withdraw from the AFC eAsian Cup 2023,” the HKFA said. 

Local media reported that the Hong Kong representative team only learned they would be withdrawing from the e-tournament just three hours before the game was set to kick start against the UAE last night (Thu). 

Speaking on a radio program on Friday, HKFA president Pui Kwan-kay said the issue involved rather sensitive principles and it wouldn’t be appropriate that the team name displayed was just “Hong Kong” and not “Hong Kong, China” during the extensive live stream. 

He also said the decision to withdraw from the e-tournament was to face the problem directly. He added that the matter required discreet caution, citing national anthem blunders in the past. 

Pui also worried that the HKFA would be under fire from the public or be punished by the SF&OC for failing to follow the guidelines stringently. 

Yet, Pui defended the promotional materials for the upcoming Inter Miami visit starring Argentine super star Lionel Messi, in which the representative team were only referred to as the “Hong Kong Team”. 

Pui said it was okay because the match was not an international one between two countries. He went on to say that if a Guangdong representative team came and played in Hong Kong, the match would simply be referred to as “Guangdong vs Hong Kong”. 

He also said fans won’t say “China Hong Kong Team” when chanting slogans and cheering.