⭐ Scotland's rising star who was made in Hong Kong
You heard his name here first: Cai McGunnigle. The youngest-ever scorer in the HKPL shone with our under-17s in Portugal this month
By James Porteous
When the squad dropped for Scotland under-17s’ training camp in Portugal this month, a name jumped out — Cai McGunnigle of… Hong Kong FC?
No, not a hitherto uncharted part of deepest Lanarkshire, McGunnigle (above, back row, second left) had indeed caught selectors’ eyes from the Special Administrative Region of China 6000 miles away. But how?
Hong Kong Football Club, founded by colonial official Sir James Lockhart from Ardsheal in Argyllshire in 1886, has extensive links to Scotland, as does the city. Indeed, were it not for two Edinburgh University men, William Jardine and James Matheson, getting peeved at China’s interference in their drug smuggling business, it is arguable that Hong Kong would never have become a British colony as a result of the First Opium War.
Nearly 200 years on, McGunnigle, 16, became the youngest-ever goalscorer in the Hong Kong Premier League. The 10-team league is probably around lower Scottish Championship/upper League One level, but HKFC are semi-pro and ranked between Annan Athletic and Stirling Albion, according to Opta’s Power Ranking model. It is primarily an exclusive private members’ club and has only competed regularly in the HKPL in the last five years.
“Since the start of the 2024/2025 season, we have operated as a professional club — conducting daily morning training, video analysis, and strength and conditioning —while working within financial and operational constraints,” says coach Chancy Cooke, a South African who worked his way from grassroots level in Hong Kong up to the national men’s U20s and U23s, then HKFC.
The club has impressive facilities, with a tidy 2,750-seater two-stand stadium in a corner of Happy Valley racetrack (below). On any given afternoon, many of the 1200-plus boys and girls in its grassroots football programme, which has Asian Football Confederation Elite academy status, will be training in their kits sponsored by HSBC (which was also founded in Hong Kong by a Scot — Thomas Sutherland). The best — like McGunnigle — get a chance to join the youngest squad in the HKPL.
“I’ve known him since he was eight or nine,” says Cooke of McGunnigle. “I guess the first time I thought, ‘Yeah, he has a bit,’ was when he was about 10 or 11. I was down a player, he ran past, and I told him to ditch his mates and play with the under-18s — he didn’t hesitate. If he was bigger, he would have been the best player there at 10 or 11 years old.”
McGunnigle has since caught the eye at the HKFC Soccer Sevens — a unique seven-a-side tournament played on the stadium’s full pitch which sees many top European youth sides take part, often including Celtic and Rangers. Shaun Maloney, Barry Bannan and Charlie Adam are among Scots to have starred there.
McGunnigle’s parents are from Barrhead and Parkhead and have been teaching in Hong Kong for around 20 years. Their son caught Rangers’ eye at the 2024 Sevens, leading to an invite to train with them that summer, reveals Scott Semple, another proud Scot, former captain of the HKFC Soccer Section and chairman of the Sevens organising committee. As an aside, Semple’s father Billy was on Rangers’ books from 1967-72 before playing in Hong Kong with Willie Henderson, Alex Willoughby and Jim Forrest at Hong Kong Rangers, something of a tribute act to the original set up in 1958 by a Govan expat. Rangers fan Semple’s father-in-law is Celtic great Danny McGrain, which keeps conversation interesting at family get-togethers.
In this year’s Soccer Sevens, McGunnigle scored in a win over AZ Alkmaar — UEFA Youth League semi-finalists — and looked at home against West Ham and Leicester. He trained with Queen’s Park and then St Mirren in the summer, and caught the eye of Scotland selectors in an impressive performance against Manchester United down at Carrington in July. In August, he scored twice and was man-of-the-match for a HKPL Youth Select side against Manchester United’s under-16s when they visited Hong Kong.
Agent Rob Threlfall immediately moved to sign him after the Carrington game. “He stood out straight away and left a real impression,” he said. “Cai has a level of maturity you’d usually expect to see in top elite young athletes coming through Category One academies in the UK. That really sets him apart for his age, along with his ability.”
In Portugal, McGunnigle came off the bench against Serbia, then started in a win over the hosts and a defeat to Italy, to give himself every chance of being selected for the UEFA under-17 qualifiers next month. A competitive debut against England would surely be the dream for any young Scot, even one who has spent most of his life thousands of miles away. After that?
“I reckon he has a chance,” says coach Cooke of his prospects. “Like all talented young lads dreaming of making it pro, he needs a few balls to bounce his way, but in terms of ability, I believe he can go the distance. I’ve been so impressed by the levels he has maintained from training in Hong Kong to performing so well against Italy and Portugal. It doesn’t faze him.”
James Porteous is a former sportswriter / editor at The Herald. He now lives in Hong Kong
