Former Hong Kong National Team and Law Society Football Team coach Lai Sun-cheung passed away on 20 June 2010 after a yearlong struggle against lung cancer. He died at the age of 59. Lai ‘Sir’, as he was commonly referred to, was widely hailed as one of the best Hong Kong defenders in the 1970s. In his playing days, he regularly represented the Hong Kong National Football Team and he was a member of the Hong Kong Team that famously won the Asian group stage in the 1978 World Cup qualifying tournament. In 2002, he became the head coach of the Hong Kong National Football Team and he brought Hong Kong to the 109th position in the FIFA World Rankings in 2006 which was the highest in recent history. In 2009, he became the coach of our Law Society Football Team and conducted a number of coaching sessions for us on a complimentary basis.

Lai Sir joined the Hong Kong Sports Institute, formerly known as Jubilee Sports Centre, in the early 1980s and played an important role in developing young talents in Hong Kong. I first met Lai Sir in 1982 when I, alongside players like Leslie Santos and Lee Kin Wo, was chosen by Lai Sir to play for the Hong Kong Under-16 football team. Lai Sir’s ‘no nonsense’ coaching style earned him the reputation as one of the best coaches in Hong Kong. Not only was he a top coach, Lai Sir was a good man and a true friend – something the Law Society Team members all concur with.

The Law Society Football Team expresses deep regret and offers condolences to Lai Sir’s family.

CM Chan
Recreation and Sports Committee Member