Auckland City FC to take on Nike Lunar New Year Cup

Words: ACFC Media

Wednesday 18 January 2017

Picture: FIFA via Getty Images

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Auckland City FC are off to Hong Kong to compete in the Nike Lunar New Year Cup in Hong Kong.

The OFC Champions League Champions are one of four clubs playing in the tournament alongside hosts Kitchee SC, FC Seoul (Republic of Korea) and SCG Muangthong United FC (Thailand) on January 28 and 31.

The four teams will play in a single knockout match on 28 January with the winner of each match progressing to the final on 31 January while the losers of each match will play a third place playoff.

The Lunar New Year Cup is an annual football tournament organised by the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) and is usually held on the first and the fourth day of the Chinese New Year as a part of the New Year celebrations.

From 1983 international teams were invited to compete and Auckland City FC will become the first team from New Zealand to compete in the tournament.

The competition has been won in the past by the national teams of Russia, Sweden, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and the Czech Republic.

In recent years, the tournament has shifted to club sides with European teams Sparta Prague, Brondby and Hajduk Split contesting the finals.

Auckland City FC chairman Ivan Vuksich was delighted to see the Navy Blues invited to the competition.

"Australia U-23 were scheduled to appear in the tournament but withdrew and within moments we received a phone call asking us if we would be interested in participating.

"We were only too delighted to agree and with the help and understanding of New Zealand Football, Hamilton Wanderers, Hawke's Bay United and Southern United, our Stirling Sports Premiership programme was put on hold.

"I want to officially extend our gratitude to New Zealand Football and our fellow Stirling Sports Premiership clubs for their consideration in this unique opportunity.

"Daniel Farrow has done a very professional job in getting all parties to an agreement about our domestic obligations.

"We hope this opens doors not only for ourselves but other Stirling Sports Premiership clubs to participate in international club competitions.

"Ourselves and Team Wellington helped provide opposition for Japan and Qatar in recent years so our reputation as a credible opponent for top quality sides is growing," Vuksich said.

Auckland City FC were scheduled to face Southern United on January 29 at Kiwitea Street then Hamilton Wanderers away on February 1 midweek.

With the Navy Blues now headed to Hong Kong for the third time in just two months those fixtures have now been rescheduled to February 15 (Hamilton Wanderers) and February 22 (Southern United).

This creates something of a fixture logjam for the club with no less than nine games in the next 29 days.

Vuksich says the congested programme is worth taking part in a tournament with such a rich history and against top quality opponents.

"The fixture list is tough but we accept that as the price for participating in the Nike Lunar New Year Cup.

"We have the OFC Champions League coming up in March but we're not complaining its great to be playing more games and we see it as an opportunity to raise our profile and that of the game in Oceania and New Zealand," he said.

The Nike Lunar New Year Cup kicks off on January 28 and finishes on January 31.

Ends

Competition Details
Nike Lunar New Year Cup 2017
When: January 28-31, 2017
Where: Hong Kong International Stadium
Who: Auckland City FC (New Zealand), FC Seoul (Korea Republic), Kitchee FC (Hong Kong), SCG Muangthong United FC (Thailand)