R&F (Hong Kong)


R&F Soccer Limited, commonly known as R&F, was an association football team based in Guangzhou, China which competed in the Hong Kong Premier League between 2016 and 2020. It was owned by Chinese property developers R&F Properties as a satellite team of Chinese Super League side Guangzhou City.
The club's name "R&F" is short for "Rich" and "Force" in Mandarin Chinese.
WWW gzrffc.com.cn

History

R&F were founded and registered at the Hong Kong Football Association in the summer of 2016. As a satellite team of Chinese Super League side Guangzhou City, most of its players were loanees from the Guangzhou City reserves. On 1 August 2016, they were accepted into the Hong Kong Premier League with following conditions: Signing at least eight Hong Kong players. Using at least three Hong Kong players in a match. Sponsoring a cup competition with a fee of $1 million. The club finished their inaugural season in 10th place with 3 wins, 1 draw and 16 defeats in the 2016–17 Hong Kong Premier League, which secured their position in the top flight for the next season.
In June 2017, R&F was allowed to move their home matches to Yanzigang Stadium in Guangzhou after previously using Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground as their stadium. They were permitted to register three foreigners for the 2017–18 Hong Kong Premier League season. R&F signed Brazilian Giovane from Eastern as well as four naturalized Hong Kong players Vas Núñez, Roberto, Itaparica and Godfred Karikari in their squad, hoping to be a more competitive team.
After another disappointing season, R&F abandoned their mission of training Guangzhou City's reserve players. Starting with the 2018–19 season, the club's budget was increased to HK$50 million and the squad was composed mainly of Hong Kong players. Chairman Huang Shenghua claimed that the club's goal was to win at least one trophy in the season and applied for full membership within the HKFA in order to represent Hong Kong in Asian Football Confederation club competitions. The club finished as runners-up, five points behind Tai Po.
On 28 June 2019, it was confirmed that the HKFA had accepted R&F's proposal to follow the same registration rules as other HKPL clubs. This moved meant that R&F could now register up to seven foreigners, while Chinese passport holders would no longer qualify as local players.
After 4 years in the HKPL, R&F officially announced that they would withdraw from the league on 14 October 2020.

Honours

League

Results

All-time league rankings

YearDivPtsPos.FA CupSenior Challenge ShieldSapling CupAtt./GStadium
2016–1712031161353-401010R1R1R2207Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground
2017–1811871102735-8227R1R1Group stage797Yanzigang Stadium
2018–191181134512625362QFSFGroup stage707Yanzigang Stadium
2019–2011053221156183Runner-upSFGroup stage388Yanzigang Stadium

Managerial history

#NamePeriodHonours
1WDL|23|3|1|19|for=14|against=62|diff=yes

Past and present internationals

Names in bold indicate players who had international appearances for their countries while playing for R&F.