Dewsbury-Hall Launches 2019 HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens In Hong Kong

While not blessed with cloudless sunshine like previous years, this season's youthful squad in Hong Kong have nonetheless been confronted with humid conditions as they prepare for this weekend's competition.

The Soccer Sevens is a frantic, breathless affair with tight pitches and condensed matches meaning players must acclimatise quickly to their surroundings - as well as the unique seven-a-side format - to achieve success.

City have lifted the Main Cup trophy on two previous occasions and will this season have one of the most youthful squads they've ever taken to Hong Kong with several players being promoted from the Under-18s.

Thursday started with an early breakfast in the bustling Causeway Bay district before a short walk through the hectic streets led them to the home of Hong Kong Football Club in Happy Valley.

With a breathtaking horse racing course looping around the football arena, beneath the world famous rolling, mountainous landscape, the young Foxes got to work on the training pitches at 9am local time.

Led by coaching team Steve Beaglehole and Ben Petty, the 10-man squad were put through their paces in temperatures exceeding 25 degrees with a heavy emphasis on ball retention and one-touch play.

Between a host of specially designed training drills, Beaglehole explained to LCFC TV the value of playing in the competition: "This trip is ideal to integrate some of the younger boys into the squad.

"They're the next group up from the Under-18s into the Under-23s group and I’m sure that during the 2019/20 season, those boys will figure in numerous games at Under-23s level so that’s a big plus for us.

"We’ve come out here and we’ve won it twice, as you know, and it’ll be a difficult challenge. It's a young group, but we've also got a little bit of experience in certain areas.

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Dewsbury-Hall and his fellow captains try their hand at calligraphy as part of the media launch.

"The bigger picture is that it’s fantastic for the development of the younger players as we progress to try and get them towards the first team."

Following an hour-long training session, Dewsbury-Hall, the Club's 2018/19 Development Squad Player of the Season, headed back across town to link up with his opposition captains in Causeway Bay.

Atop of the 27-floor Pullman building, the 20-year-old Academy graduate was challenged to a locally-themed calligraphy test before undergoing interviews with a well represented Hong Kong press pack.

After being named in two previous Soccer Sevens squads, but suffering injuries on both occasions, Dewsbury-Hall has been afforded with the honour of wearing the captain's armband for Leicester this weekend.

"I’m really happy to captain the team," he told LCFC TV. "We’ve got a young team, we’ve got a fresh team… a team that wants to work hard, so we've got to rally the troops and get a good result in the end. 

"We’re on the top of a 27-floor building at the moment, looking over the whole of Hong Kong! This competition is massive over here obviously.

"[Since] we’ve got here, everyone’s talking about it, people are coming up to us, asking us about it, signing autographs… It’s a big tournament out here so we’re looking forward to it."

City begin their Group B campaign against Singapore Cricket Club at 9.51am HKT on Saturday, later facing Kitchee at 11.33am HKT and Aston Villa 1.15pm HKT.

Don't forget to tune into the Club's official social media channels, as well as LCFC.com, for regular updates from Hong Kong over the coming week.