Chow Ka Wa

Chow Ka Wa (Chinese: 鄒嘉華; Cantonese Yale: Jāu Gāwà ; born 23 April 1986 in Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong footballer who plays for Hong Kong First Division League club Southern as a right midfielder.

Chow Ka Wa
Personal information
Full name Chow Ka Wa
Date of birth (1986-04-23) 23 April 1986
Place of birth Hong Kong
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Right Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Eastern District
Youth career
Rangers (HKG)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2005 Citizen 0 (0)
2005 → Xiangxue Phar (loan) 2 (0)
2005–2006 Kwun Tong 7 (2)
2006–2007 Hong Kong 08 12 (0)
2007–2010 Shatin 39 (12)
2010–2011 Pontic 21 (5)
2011–?? Southern 31 (4)
201?– Eastern District
National team‡
2003 Hong Kong U18[1]
2004 Hong Kong U20[2]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 May 2013
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 May 2013

Club career

Citizen

Chow began his professional career at Citizen, a newly promoted First Division club, in the 2004–05 season. However, as a young player, he failed to compete for a place in the starting line-up, only mostly played in the Senior Shield.

Loan to Xiangxie Phar

During the season, Xiangxie Phar was rebuilt and players all left the club. To retain their presence in the league, six teams from the First Division league loaned their young players so that they could gain match experiences. Chow was one of them who was loaned from Citizen. However, as he was still a student at that time, he failed to attend every training session and therefore was not given many match-playing chances. He returned to Citizen at the end of the season.

Kwun Tong

After spending a season in the top-tier division, he joined Third Division side Kwun Tong, as he had to focus on academic studies. Although he played most of the matches, he failed to help them gain promotion to the Second Division. He left the club at the end of the season.

Hong Kong 08

Chow made a return to the First Division in the 2006–07 season, joining Hong Kong 08, which was formed by a team of young players to let them gain match experiences before competing in the 2008 Olympics qualifiers. He was given plenty of match-playing chances although there were many wingers at the team. However, the club was relegated and was dissolved after the season.

Although many players and coaches joined newly promoted side Workable, Chow did not follow them and joined Third Division side Shatin, meaning he would miss the First Division for the second time.

Shatin

Chow joined Third Division side Shatin in the 2007–08 season. As a third-tier club, however, Shatin had many players with First Division playing experience, including Lee Wai Man who was the current most capped Hong Kong national team record player, Ng Yat Hoi, Kwok Yue Hung and so on. With an exceptionally strong squad in the league, Chow helped Shatin claim the league title without dropping any points in all 15 matches, meaning they had also gained promotion to Second Division. At the same time, Shatin also won the Junior Shield title in the season.

Chow stayed at the club as Shatin were aiming at promotion to the First Division for their first time in club history. He continued to make a great impact in the team and eventually helped the club achieve their season goal as they claimed the league title with only losing one match in 18 matches. On the other hand, Shatin successfully defended their Junior Shield title, defeating Sham Shai Po 2–0 in the final. Chow played 90 minutes in the match, providing one assist in the match.

He followed the team and made a second return to the First Division in the 2009–10 season. However, since Shatin bought several new players to strengthen their squad, Chow's match-playing chances were therefore reduced. Shatin failed to avoid relegation to the Second Division as they placed 2nd at the bottom of the league. Chow also left the club after the season.

Pontic

Chow made his third leave from the First Division as he joined Second Division side Pontic in the 2010–11 season. As a key member in the team, he only missed one game throughout the season, helping the club gain promotion to the First Division.

However, since Pontic failed to find sponsors, they lacked sufficient funds to run the club. As a result, Pontic announced they refused to promote to the First Division. Soon later, Pontic was punished and had their club qualification cancelled, meaning that they were not able to compete in every league and cup organised by the Hong Kong Football Association. Chow became Free Agent afterwards.

Southern

Chow joined Second Division side Southern in the 2011–12 season. Under coaching of Fung Hoi Man, Chow was a usual starter for the club, featuring 20 league matches and scoring 2 goals. Southern successfully gain promotion to the First Division as they placed second in the league.

The 2012–13 season was a year of breakthrough for Chow Ka Wa, as his impressive performance and co-operation with fellow team-mates Dieguito, Jonathan Carril and Ip Chung Long attracted people's eyes. He made a great impact on Southern's 8-game unbeaten in the league during the season. Unfortunately, Chow was injured in January and was forced to stay on the sidelines for two months.

On 20 April 2013, he scored the winning goal in the 68th minute after being substituted in the 60th minute against South China, not just helping the club to win 3–2, but also helping them to secure the league 4th place. This was also Chow's first game after his recovery on his injury. This goal became more important as Southern qualified for the 2013 Hong Kong AFC Cup play-offs by finishing fourth in the league, as Kitchee won the FA Cup on 11 May 2013 after they had secure a place in the play-offs by finishing second in the league.

Career statistics

Club
As of 5 May 2013.
Club Season Division League Shield & FA Cup League Cup AFC Cup Others1 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Citizen 2004–05 First Division 000030N/AN/A——30
Xiangxue Phar (loan) 201000N/AN/A——30
Citizen Total 000030000030
Xiangxue Phar Total 201000000030
Kwun Tong 2005–06 Third 'District' Division 7020—2—2N/AN/A——90
Kwun Tong Total 702000000090
Hong Kong 08 2006–07 First Division 1201040N/AN/A——170
Hong Kong 08 Total 12010400000170
Shatin 2007–08 Third 'District' Division 131152—2—2N/AN/A——1813
2008–09 Second Division 14161—2—2N/AN/A——202
2009–10 First Division 12010—3—3N/AN/A——130
Shatin Total 39121230000005115
Pontic 2010–11 Second Division 21531—2—2N/AN/A——246
Pontic Total 21531000000246
Southern 2011–12 Second Division 20222—2—3N/AN/A——224
2012–13 First Division 11251—3—3N/AN/A00163
Southern Total 31473000000387
Hong Kong Total 1122126770000014528

Remarks:
 1 Others include 2013 Hong Kong AFC Cup play-offs.
2 Hong Kong League Cup only consists of top-tier division clubs.
3 Hong Kong League Cup was not held in the 2009–10 and 2012–13 seasons.

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References
  1. "第十九屆深港穗男子少年足球賽". hkfa.com. 2 December 2003.
  2. "2004年國際青年足球邀請賽-香港20歲以下青年代表隊職球員名單". hkfa.com. 28 January 2004.
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