China–Hong Kong football rivalry
| Locale | China and Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| Teams | |
| First meeting | 1978 |
| Statistics | |
| Most wins | China |
| Largest victory | China 7-0 Hong Kong |
The China–Hong Kong football rivalry is a sports rivalry between the national association football teams of the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong. The rivalry has been exacerbated by Hong Kong's status as a Special Administrative Region of China, which means that it does not practise communism as on the mainland, a legacy of having been under British rule until the transfer of sovereignty in 1997.
China and Hong Kong have been playing each other in football matches since a friendly in Hong Kong in 1978. In 1985, Hong Kong, then a British dependent territory, played China in the AFC First Round 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification group. The final match at Workers’ Stadium, Beijing meant China only needed to avoid defeat to progress and Hong Kong had to win. Despite this, Hong Kong won 2–1. In response, Chinese fans blocked the Hong Kong team from leaving and started rioting in China's first known case of football hooliganism.
In 1997, Hong Kong was handed over from the United Kingdom to China but was permitted to continue to field a separate national football team under the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration despite its new status as a Special Administrative Region of China under the One Country, Two Systems policy. In 2003, when China and Hong Kong were drawn together during the AFC 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, former Chinese national football team manager, Bora Milutinovic stated: "This is incredible. How can China play Hong Kong? Hong Kong is China. They are the same country." During this campaign, China won both matches: winning 1-0 in Hong Kong and 7-0 in China.
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