Hong Kong FA To Add Potential 'Giant Killers' To This Year's Expanded FA Cup

The Hong Kong FA will introduce potential "giant killers" this season to add excitement to the FA Cup, which will be expanded to a 16-team tournament, according to Alvin Sallay of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. In a bid to "boost youth development and make the FA Cup more exciting," the HKFA has "taken the ambitious step" of including the four semifinalists from the Junior Shield competition among the 12 teams in the RedMR First Division for the knockout tournament later this season. Further down the line, the HKFA is also "toying with the idea of expanding the FA Cup to include other clubs" in Hong Kong also taking part in the preliminary stages before "joining the big boys in the latter stages." This move "to add spice to the FA Cup will be welcomed," as in recent years the tournament has lost a little of its luster "with some of the bigger clubs preferring to rest their key players for league encounters" (SCMP, 10/8).