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 and 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.Lunar New Year Cup by Neil Morrison at the RSSSF
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.
Competition name and sponsorship
Year Name Sponsor 1983 Coupe du Solvil et Titus Solvil et Titus 1984 Adidas Gold Cup Adidas 1986–89 Carlsberg Cup Carlsberg 1990–92 Marlboro Cup Marlboro 1993–2006 Carlsberg Cup Carlsberg 2008 Wing Lung Bank Cup Wing Lung Bank 2010 Fortis Insurance Company Tiger Lunar New Year Cup Fortis Insurance Company 2011 RedMR Asian Challenge Cup RedMR 2012 Nikon Asian Challenge Cup Nikon 2013 China Mobile Satellite Communications Cup China Mobile Satellite Communications2014 AET Cup AET2017 Nike Lunar New Year Cup Nike2019 Tonghai Financial Chinese New Year Cup China Tonghai Financial2024–26 FWD Insurance Chinese New Year Cup FWD Group
Results Lunar New Year Cup – year by yearYearFinalThird place matchWinnerScoreRunner-upThird placeScoreFourth place1908–73 (Interport and exhibition matches) 1974— CA Juventus Sporting CP1975 Independiente— Hong Kong League XI1976 Grasshopper— Hong Kong League XI1977 Sparta Rotterdam— Hong Kong League XI1978 — Servette FC1979 Guangdong— Östers IF Hong Kong League XI1980 Red Star Belgrade— Hong Kong League XI1981 Dinamo Zagreb— Hong Kong League XI1982 FK Austria Wien1–0 Hallelujah FC Seiko SA1–1(5–3 p) Hong Kong League XI1983 Hong Kong League XI2–0 Hallelujah FC AGF3–1 Beijing Selection1984 FK Partizan1–0 Hong Kong League XI Daewoo Royals2–1 Lyngby Boldklub1985 Hong Kong League British XI1–0 Hong Kong League XI Guangzhoun/a Shanghai1986 — Hong Kong League XI1987 Brøndby IF2–0 Beijing1–0 Shanghai1988 Hong Kong League XI0–0(5–3 p) AGF Lucky-Goldstar FC3–0 Dalian Shide1989 Malmö FF— — Odense BK1990 Sparta Prague2–0 Spartak Moscow4–1 Hong Kong League XI1991 Hong Kong League XI3–1 Aston Villa FC Dynamo Moscow2–01992 Hong Kong League XI2–2(3–2 p) FK Partizan Steaua București2–0 BSC Young Boys Bern1993 3–2 Hong Kong League XI Denmark U-212–119942–0 Hong Kong League XI League XI2–11995 FR Yugoslavia1–03–1 Hong Kong League XI19961–1(5–4 p)1–0 Hong Kong League XI19972–1 FR Yugoslavia3–1 Hong Kong League XI19982–0 Hong Kong League XI1–1(4–2 p)19993–03–0 Hong Kong League XI20002–10–0(6–5 p) Hong Kong League XI20012–1 Hong Kong League XI1–1(6–5 p)20021–0 Hong Kong League XI0–0(4–3 p)20031–1(4–2 p) Denmark League XI2–1 Hong Kong League XI20043–13–0 Hong Kong League XI20057–120063–14–02007 Jamaica Olympic Team0–0(5–4 p) China PR Olympic Team Australia Olympic Team2–2(5–3 p) Hong Kong League XI2008 Hong Kong League XI2–1 HNK Hajduk Split Peñarol1–1(5–4 p) Ulsan Hyundai2009 South China & Pegasus United2–1 Sparta Prague Suwon Samsung Bluewings0–0(5–4 p) Hong Kong League XI2010 Pohang Steelers— Kitchee Pegasus Invitation Team2011 Tianjin Teda0–0(5–3 p) Guangzhou Evergrande Ulsan Hyundai4–2 South China2012 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma5–1 Shimizu S-Pulse Guangzhou R&F1–1(3–1 p) South China2013 Busan IPark1–0 Shanghai East Asia Hong Kong League XI1–0 Muangthong United2014 Citizen & Cuenca United2–0 Olhanense Krylia Sovetov1–0 FC Tokyo2015 New York Cosmos2–2(4–2 p) South China2016 Hong Kong League XI4–0 Hong Kong2017 Auckland City1–0 Kitchee Muangthong United1–0 FC Seoul2018 Hong Kong League XI4–3 Hong Kong2019 Shandong Luneng3–1 Sagan Tosu Hong Kong League XI1–0 Auckland City2020Cancelled 2021202220232024World Legends7–3 Hong Kong Legends2025World Legends3–3(6–5 p) Hong Kong Legends2026 Hong Kong1–1(5–4 p) FC Seoul
Notes
References
External links Lunar New Year Cup results RSSSF HKFA Website 漫談賀歲足球賽事(一) (in Chinese)