Mahama Awal, a striker from Cameroon, officially obtained the status of a local player in March this year.
After completing the procedures at the immigration office, he was immediately called up by the Hong Kong team coach Jørn Andersen to participate in the Hong Kong team training in the afternoon: “I have never represented Cameroon in international competitions. To be part of the Hong Kong team and to compete internationally is a dream come true.”
The story of Awal and Hong Kong football started 14 years ago. At that time, he had a cousin who played in the China League, and transferred to Serbia in 2009. Then his cousin’s agent knew that Awal was also a football player, so he introduced him to Guangdong Sunray Cave FC to try his feet, and soon got a formal contract and became Guangdong Sunray. Cave’s main player. Due to its high speed, it was nicknamed “Black Panther” by some fans.
First Experience
In 2012, two Hong Kong players, Leung Chun Pong and Chan Siu Ki joined Guangdong Sunray Cave successively. Although they had played a friendly match with Sun Hei before that, Awal knew nothing about Hong Kong football. At the beginning of the two Hong Kong generals joining, Awal observed that they could hardly bear the training of the mainland, but they quickly caught up with the team. With their cooperation, the team completed the Chinese Premier League season for the second time in 2013 , Only one step away from the Super League. Chan Siu Ki and Leung Chun Pong returned to Hong Kong and joined South China AA and Eastern AA respectively, while Awal continued to play.
At the end of 2014, Guangdong Sunray Cave FC was acquired by a consortium. It was originally planned to move the team to Shaanxi and change its name to “Shaanxi Wuzhou”, but due to wage arrears, it was eventually disqualified. At this time, many teams had completed their formation, and Awal, who had no job, received a notification from his agent, saying that SCAA had proposed an invitation: “If you don’t accept it, you may not have a game for a whole year, so I had no choice at the time. At the same time, I also learned that SCAA is one of the famous big football clubs in Asia, plus the salary is good, and I want to try new challenges, so I agreed to come to Hong Kong.”
After coming to Hong Kong, the first thing to get used to is that the training volume of the Hong Kong team is less than that of the mainland teams: “The quality of training here is very good and the facilities are complete, but in Hong Kong, there is only one training session per day. About 2 hours or 2.5 hours, and some days in China, after one lesson in the morning, there will be an extra lesson in the afternoon.”
Ups and Downs
Recalling the pre-season training at Guangdong Sunray Cave, the coach often asked the players to run around like crazy in the first month to hone their will and physical fitness, and only then did they have touch training in the second month. Awal believes that if the quality of training before the start of the season is good, the players will definitely be in better condition throughout the season: “Besides, as a professional football player, I myself do extra exercises every day. In mainland China, players will I continue to practice on my weaknesses, some are shooting waves and some are running; but Hong Kong players often go to shower and go home after practicing wave.”
After playing for the SCAA for a year and a half, Awal has experienced a major feature of Hong Kong football: “I never thought that the SCAA would be relegated on its own! I don’t know the reason until today. The SCAA should belong to the top league. I I really want to see SCAA return to the Hong Kong Super League.” Awal joined Pegasus after another shift, and then transferred to Yuen Long at the end of 2020, but the contract was terminated because of family affairs. A group of North Division. Coincidentally, Pegasus will also be relegated to Group C in 2021, and Awal is also confused about this.
In 2022, Awal, who is about to become a local player, received a call from Roberto Fronza “Beto”, assistant coach of Guanzhong Southern District, inviting him to return to the Hong Kong Premier League. Returning to the professional game, he was recruited by coach Anderson to represent the Hong Kong team. At the end of the season, he assisted the Southern District to win the first professional championship Sapling Cup. Awal has achieved a lot in the past season. It is hard to imagine that he was only in the first division in the previous season. Competition: “I practice on my own every day, so even the amount of practice that restores my profession immediately does not affect my state.”
Dreams come true
This year, his dream finally came true and he was selected for the Hong Kong team. Awal is very grateful to coach Andersen: “The coach works very hard, and he will watch a lot of games. He is the kind of person who is willing to give you a chance as long as you work hard enough, no matter your age or skin color. I am very grateful to him for giving me the honor of participating in international competitions, and I will continue to repay his appreciation with my performance.”
The Hong Kong team has not tasted a victory since the closed-door friendly match against Myanmar in September 2022, but Ai Hua is confident in the performance of the Hong Kong team: “I have only joined the Hong Kong team for a short time, but I have not seen any problems with the team. The coach asked us to take the initiative to play in the right direction. We are already very close to the level of our opponents at the same level and are now improving. As long as we have confidence, the Hong Kong team is capable of defeating Thailand, Malaysia and even Qatar!”
After the two international games in June, many online media questioned the Hong Kong team’s rushing tactics. Awal believed that this had something to do with the level of the league: “Malaysia and Thailand have a high level of competition and high competition intensity, so the national team is also on the field. He will take the initiative; but the teams in the Hong Kong League generally do not play proactively, so the coach keeps instilling in the players to be proactive. This is his judgment after watching a lot of games, and I think it is correct.”
In addition, Awal believes that the government’s support for professional football is also an important factor in improving the level of the league and the Hong Kong team. The government should allocate funds and land so that each professional team has its own dedicated training ground and facilities.
Muslim
At first, Awal only planned to stay in Hong Kong for half a year to a year before going to China or Europe to seek opportunities, and eventually became a person who stayed in Hong Kong, organized a family and became a Hong Kong citizen. The 32-year-old Awal is still in good condition. In addition to continuing to play in the HKPL, if he has the opportunity in the future, he still hopes to leave work in different places and retire in Hong Kong when his body can no longer bear the load.
As one of the few Muslims in the football circle, Awal’s faith is also the driving force for his football career. He prays five times a day according to the hadith, and every Friday he will go to the mosque to perform “July” (صـلاة الجـمـعـة) in person. During Ramadan (مَضَان, this month is the month when “Allah” Allah descended the “Koran” to the Prophet Muhammad in September of the Islamic calendar every year, it is also the most holy month among the 12 months of the year), from after sunrise to No food or drink is allowed before sunset, which is a big challenge for Muslim players in terms of physical strength and endurance.
“In Europe and Arab countries, Ramadan games are played at night to reduce the impact on the players. But Hong Kong is not an Islamic country, and the games are still played during the Ramadan. The coaches will obviously see the energy of the players drop, not necessarily would take the risk of sending Muslim players.”
However, Aihua is also very used to and obeys the fast: “During the fast, I will be ascetic and cleanse my heart. I will pray often this month, so my heart will be very peaceful. For me, all the glory belongs to Allah.”
Profile
| Name | Mahama Awal |
| Pos. | L/RW |
| Preferred foot | Right |
| Birth | 1991/6/10 |
| Pro team | Guangdong Sunray Cave（2009-2014） South China（2015-2017） Pegasus（2017-2019/2020） Northern Dist.（2021-2022） KC Southern Dist.（2022-） |
(cover photo credit to @_nk17_)