| Organising body | HKFA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1908 |
| Region | Hong Kong |
| Number of teams | 4 (2019) |
| Current champions |  Shandong Luneng |
| Most successful club(s) |  Hong Kong League XI (8 titles) |
 2020 | |
The Lunar New Year Cup, previously known as the Carlsberg Challenge or the Carlsberg Cup, is an annual invitational football tournament organised in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) since 1908. It is usually held on the first and the fourth day of the Lunar New Year as a part of the new year celebrations. The tournament was called the Carlsberg Cup from 1986 to 1989, from 1993 to 2006 as Carlsberg was the major sponsor of the event.
Since the 2007 edition of the event, the competition has officially been known as the "Lunar New Year Cup" by the Hong Kong Football Association. This is because Carlsberg is now no longer the major sponsor but a mere co-sponsor. During 2011 and 2012, the name of the event was changed to "Asian Challenge Cup".
History
Initially, a touring team (usually European) visited Hong Kong playing exhibition matches vs local combined. In the period before and around the Second World War, the Lunar New Year Cup was competed for by teams from Hong Kong and mainland China. Since 1950, HKFA has invited at least one overseas team to enter the competition. Before 1982, there were three exhibition matches in the tournament. The first two were usually played by the Hong Kong national football team, Hong Kong player team and Hong Kong League XI while the Chinese XI played the last match.[1]
In 1983, there was a main sponsorship for the competition for the first time and the number of invited teams was increased to three. From 1993 onwards, national teams rather than club teams were invited to participate in the competition. Many of the matches in that period were recognised as "full internationals" by FIFA.[1]
Competition name and sponsorship
| Year | Name | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Coupe du Solvil et Titus | .svg.png){kind=small} Solvil et Titus |
| 1984 | Adidas Gold Cup |  Adidas |
| 1986–89 | Carlsberg Cup |  Carlsberg |
| 1990–92 | Marlboro Cup |  Malboro |
| 1993–2006 | Carlsberg Cup | Carlsberg |
| 2008 | Wing Lung Bank Cup | Wing Lung Bank |
| 2010 | Fortis Insurance Company Tiger Lunar New Year Cup [2] | Fortis Insurance Company |
| 2011 | RedMR Asian Challenge Cup | RedMR |
| 2012 | Nikon Asian Challenge Cup |  Nikon |
| 2013 | China Mobile Satellite Communications Cup [3] | China Mobile Satellite Communications |
| 2014 | AET Cup | AET |
| 2017 | Nike Lunar New Year Cup [4] | Nike |
| 2019 | Tonghai Financial Chinese New Year Cup [5] | China Tonghai Financial |
Results
| Year | Final | Third place match | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |
| 1908–73 | Interport & Exhibition Matches | |||||
| 1974 | Hong Kong | – [note 1] | .svg.png){kind=small} CA Juventus |  Sporting CP | – | |
| 1975 |  Independiente | – [note 1] | Hong Kong | Hong Kong League XI | – | |
| 1976 |  Grasshopper | – [note 1] | Hong Kong League XI | Hong Kong | – | |
| 1977 |  Sparta Rotterdam | – [note 1] | Hong Kong | Hong Kong League XI | – | |
| 1978 | China PR | – [note 1] | Servette FC | Hong Kong | – | |
| 1979 | Guangdong | – [note 1] |  Östers IF | Hong Kong League XI | – | |
| 1980 | .svg.png){kind=small} Red Star Belgrade | – [note 1] | Hong Kong League XI | Hong Kong | – | |
| 1981 | Dinamo Zagreb | – [note 1] | Hong Kong League XI | Hong Kong | – | |
| 1982 |  FK Austria Wien | 1–0[6] | .svg.png){kind=small} Hallelujah FC | Seiko SA | 1–1 (5–3) pen. | Hong Kong League XI |
| 1983 | Hong Kong League XI | 2–0 | Hallelujah FC | AGF | 3–1 | Beijing Selection |
| 1984 | FK Partizan | 1–0 | Hong Kong League XI | Daewoo Royals | 2–1[7] | Lyngby Boldklub |
| 1985 | Hong Kong League British XI | 1–0 | Hong Kong League XI | Guangzhou | n/a | Shanghai |
| 1986 | .svg.png){kind=small} Paraguay | – [note 1] | .svg.png){kind=small} South Korea | Hong Kong League XI | – | |
| 1987 | Brøndby IF | 2–0 | Hong Kong | Beijing | 1–0 | Shanghai |
| 1988 | Hong Kong League XI | 0–0 (5–3) pen. | AGF | Lucky-Goldstar FC | 3–0[8] | Dalian Shide |
| 1989 | Malmö FF | – [note 2] | China PR | Hong Kong | – [9] | Odense BK |
| 1990 |  Sparta Prague | 2–0 | China PR |  Spartak Moscow | 4–1 | Hong Kong League XI |
| 1991 | Hong Kong League XI | 3–1 |  Aston Villa | FC Dynamo Moscow | 2–0 |  Thailand |
| 1992 | Hong Kong League XI | 2–2 (3–2) pen. | FK Partizan |  Steaua Bucureşti | 2–0 | BSC Young Boys Bern |
| 1993 | Switzerland | 3–2 | Hong Kong League XI | Denmark U-21 | 2–1 | .svg.png){kind=small} Japan |
| 1994 | Denmark | 2–0 | Hong Kong League XI | Romania League XI | 2–1 | United States |
| 1995 | %3b_Flag_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro_(2003%e2%80%932006).svg.png){kind=small} FR Yugoslavia | 1–0 | South Korea |  Colombia | 3–1 | Hong Kong League XI |
| 1996 | Sweden | 1–1 (5–4) pen. | Japan |  Poland | 1–0 | Hong Kong League XI |
| 1997 |  Russia | 2–1 | Switzerland | FR Yugoslavia | 3–1 | Hong Kong League XI |
| 1998 |  Nigeria | 2–0 | Hong Kong League XI |  Iran | 1–1 (4–2) pen. |  Chile |
| 1999 |  Mexico | 3–0 |  Egypt |  Bulgaria | 3–0 | Hong Kong League XI |
| 2000 | Czech Republic | 2–1 | Mexico | Japan | 0–0 (6–5) pen. | Hong Kong League XI |
| 2001 |  Norway | 2–1 | Hong Kong League XI | .svg.png){kind=small} South Korea | 1–1 (6–5) pen. | .svg.png){kind=small} Paraguay |
| 2002 |  Honduras | 1–0 | Hong Kong League XI |  Slovenia | 0–0 (4–3) pen. | China PR |
| 2003 |  Uruguay | 1–1 (4–2) pen. | Iran | Denmark League XI | 2–1 | Hong Kong League XI |
| 2004 | Norway | 3–1 | Honduras | Sweden | 3–0 | Hong Kong League XI |
| 2005 |  Brazil | 7–1 | Hong Kong | (2 teams only) | ||
| 2006 | Denmark | 3–1 | South Korea |  Croatia | 4–0 | Hong Kong |
| 2007 |  Jamaica Olympic Team | 0–0 (5–4) pen. | China PR Olympic Team | .svg.png){kind=small} Australia Olympic Team | 2–2 (5–3) pen. | Hong Kong League XI |
| 2008 | Hong Kong League XI | 2–1 | HNK Hajduk Split | Peñarol | 1–1 (5–4) pen. | Ulsan Hyundai |
| 2009 | South China & Pegasus United | 2–1 | Sparta Prague | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 0–0 (5–4) pen. | Hong Kong League XI |
| 2010 | Pohang Steelers | – [note 1] | Kitchee | Pegasus Invitation Team | – | |
| 2011 | Tianjin Teda | 0–0 (5–3) pen. | Guangzhou Evergrande | Ulsan Hyundai | 4–2 | South China |
| 2012 |  Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 5–1 | Shimizu S-Pulse | Guangzhou R&F | 1–1 (3–1) pen. | South China |
| 2013 | Busan IPark | 1–0 | Shanghai East Asia | Hong Kong League XI | 1–0 | Muangthong United |
| 2014 |  Citizen & Cuenca United | 2–0 | Olhanense | Krylia Sovetov | 1–0 | FC Tokyo |
| 2015 | New York Cosmos | 2–2 (4–2) pen. | South China | (2 teams only) | ||
| 2016 | Hong Kong League XI | 4–0 | Hong Kong | (2 teams only) | ||
| 2017 |  Auckland City | 1–0 | Kitchee | Muangthong United | 1–0 | FC Seoul |
| 2018 | Hong Kong League XI | 4–3 | Hong Kong | (2 teams only) | ||
| 2019 | Shandong Luneng | 3–1 | Sagan Tosu | Hong Kong League XI | 1–0 | Auckland City |
| 2020 | Cancelled [note 3] | |||||
- Notes
References
- ^ a b Lunar New Year Cup by Neil Morrison at the RSSSF
- ^ 富通保險虎年賀歲盃
- ^ China Mobile Satellite Communications Cup Final Busan IPARK (KOR) 1:0 Shanghai East Asia (CHN)
- ^ Exciting Nike Lunar New Year Cup 2017 kicks-off Year of the Rooster on Saturday afternoon
- ^ TONGHAI FINANCIAL Chinese New Year Cup 2019
- ^ Hallelujah FC finished runners-up in Hongkong football tournament
- ^ Daewoo FC finished 3rd in Adidas Cup
- ^ Lucky-Goldstar FC finished 3rd Place in Carlsberg Cup
- ^ (Four-team round-robin tournament)
- ^ Chan, Kin-wa. "Wuhan coronavirus: Lunar New Year Cup cancelled by government just hours after HKFA promotes the event". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 January 2020.