China–Hong Kong football rivalry China–Hong Kong football rivalry 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,
Hong Kong People's Association Hong Kong People's Association The Hong Kong People's Association () was a middle-class and professional oriented political organisation formed on 18 November 1984. Along with the Association for Democracy and Justice, it was established in response to the signage of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and then British Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe's visit in April 1984. It was one of the many political groups formed during the Sino-British negotiations on the sovereignty of Hong Kong in the early 80s and demanded democratic reform during the transition period, the others being notably the Meeting Point and Hong Kong Affairs Society. It participated