Hong Kong trio chasing football dreams at La Liga Academy, Madrid base provides, ‘precious opportunity, with no pressure’
- The centre in the Spanish capital allows teens from around the world to live and train like professional footballers
- Hong Kong trio say parents back their dreams as long as they put everything into it
While a number of Hong Kong’s leading footballers publicly seek moves abroad, three schoolboys from the city are accelerating their own development during nine months at a leading academy in Spain.
Jay Marc Chan, Darin Tang Hei-nok and Ho Yuen all gained places at Madrid’s pioneering La Liga Academy, after impressing coaches at the organisation’s Hong Kong facility.
The project, which opened its doors in 2022, draws the pick of players from satellite centres around the globe, and combines elite football coaching, with studying at an integrated international school.
Midfielder Chan is part of the under-17 group in Madrid, despite only turning 14 in September. He has played for Kitchee at under-16 level, and been a member of Hong Kong squads for the same age-group.
He had no second thoughts about going, because “as a kid, you want to play football and have fun. This was a chance to improve my football and develop new skills”.
Chan understands that only a few make it to the top, and said if he wasn’t among that number he wanted to “try to get into university in the US or UK, and continue playing football”.
