Fans are being urged to buy their Soccer Sevens tickets in advance to avoid the disappointment of not being able to gain entry.
Strong ticket sales point to the tournament being close to capacity, especially on Sunday when the knockout matches are played.
“The level of interest in the tournament has never been higher,” confirmed Soccer Sevens chairman Tony Bratsanos. “The debut by Manchester City, the return of Newcastle United as defending champions, the first appearance for many years of local giants South China and our strongest ever Masters competition are all contributing factors.
“We are advising fans to buy their tickets in advance to ensure they can see the tournament. The Hong Kong Football Club stadium has around 2,800 seats plus a limited amount of standing room and the indications already are that we will be close to full.
“While we have always allowed fans to pay on the day and we understand there is a walk-up culture among football supporters, we are urging them to purchase in advance to avoid disappointment.”
All spectators are allowed into the Soccer Sevens for free on Friday, while all children under the age of 16 are admitted free of charge throughout the tournament. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday cost $160 per day or $300 for a weekend pass.
Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketflap or in person at Hong Kong Football Club, 3 Sports Road, Happy Valley, or Laxton Events, 1604-5 The Broadway, 54-62 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. The ticketing enquiries hotline is 3579 8088.

Four Hong Kong First Division clubs will go in search of Soccer Sevens glory this week as the tournament welcomes the strongest contingent of local professional teams in its history.
The four – league champions South China plus BC Rangers, Citizen and Southern – will be joined by a Hong Kong Football Association age-group representative team, the Dragons.
The tournament offers the five teams a golden chance to compete against top young players from overseas, with youth and academy sides from Manchester City, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Leicester City and Scottish giants Rangers taking part.
“The HKFA is committed to supporting the Soccer Sevens as a high-profile tournament that not only provides a wonderful weekend of entertainment for fans but also gives local players the chance to test themselves against elite overseas opposition,” said HKFA CEO Mark Sutcliffe.
“In this regard, it is fantastic to see some of the most famous clubs in England and Scotland coming to compete and I am especially pleased that we have five official teams – four First Division clubs plus the HKFA Dragons – entered in the Main draw.”
Southern were the final First Division club to confirm their participation yesterday and they will go into Group B of the Main draw where their opponents will include defending champions Newcastle.
The Soccer Sevens has been won by just two Hong Kong teams since it was first held in 1999. Instant-Dict defeated Chelsea in 2000 while Kitchee beat Celtic two years ago.

Aston Villa will head to the Soccer Sevens with their young players hoping to follow in the footsteps of stars like Gabriel Agbonlahor, Marc Albrighton and Andreas Weimann.
Villa have not only won the tournament a record five times, they also have an incredible success rate when it comes to youngsters graduating to the first team. No less than 13 players who have appeared in the Soccer Sevens have gone on to represent the club at senior level.
Villa academy director Bryan Jones is one of the tournament’s biggest admirers and he is relishing the chance to blood more youngsters in Hong Kong.
“Yet again we are looking forward to returning to the Soccer Sevens,” he said. “We are extremely pleased that the Hong Kong Football Club keeps inviting us back.
“We were disappointed last year to be beaten in the final by Newcastle. The squad this year will be very, very young with most of our 18 and 19-year-olds involved in international football, which unfortunately we can't do anything about.
“But it will be great experience for these younger lads and it will stand them in good stead if we continue to be invited back in the future.”
Apart from Agbonlahor, Albrighton and Weimann, the other players who have made the leap from Soccer Sevens to first team are Liam Ridgewell, Nathan Delfouneso, Barry Bannan, Ciaran Clark, Jonathan Hogg, Chris Herd, Eric Lichaj, Steven Davis, Craig Gardner and Stephen Cooke.
From last year’s Soccer Sevens squad, Player of the Tournament Danny Johnson and Jack Grealish have featured on the substitutes’ bench in the Premier League this season.
Villa’s last victory in the Soccer Sevens came in 2010 when they beat Rangers 3-2 in a classic final. In 2011 they were knocked out of the Cup quarter-finals on penalties by Celtic and last year they lost a thrilling final 2-1 to Newcastle.
Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds, with victories in 2005 and 2006, are the only other team to have won the Soccer Sevens more than once.
The strength of Villa’s youth development programme was underlined early last month when they beat Chelsea 2-0 in the final of the prestigious NextGen Series – Europe’s top U19 club competition – at Lake Como in Italy.

Manchester United legend Teddy Sheringham has confirmed he will return to the Soccer Sevens, adding another stellar name to what is already the strongest Masters competition in the tournament’s history.
Sheringham will once again play for Hong Kong side CLA Discovery Bay and will be joined in their line-up by ex-Liverpool and Newcastle United ace Peter Beardsley and former Tottenham Hotspur winger Darren Anderton – thus reuniting members of England’s forward line from their visit to Hong Kong in 1996.
CLA Discovery Bay will be guided from the sidelines by current New Zealand national team coach Ricki Herbert – the only undefeated manager at the last World Cup.
Defending champions Aegon Ajax All Stars will have Finnish superstar Jari Litmanen and 84-cap Dutch ace Aron Winter in their powerful squad while the Rangers All Stars have recruited three internationals – Dutch duo Arthur Numan and Michael Mols and German Jörg Albertz.
The Citibank All Stars, meanwhile, will feature a full squad of ex-English Premier League regulars including Michael Gray, Marcus Gayle and Luís Boa Morte.
“Teddy Sheringham really enjoyed playing for us at last year’s Soccer Sevens and was always keen to come back, so it is fantastic news for the team and the tournament that he has confirmed he is returning,” said CLA Discovery Bay organiser Neil Jensen.
“He is especially looking forward to teaming up again with his old England colleagues Peter Beardsley and Darren Anderton and it promises to be a great moment for Hong Kong fans to see these three in action together.
“And we are delighted that Ricki Herbert is flying in from New Zealand to oversee the team. This will be the first time ever that a team in the Soccer Sevens has been managed by a current national coach.”
Striker Sheringham will be forever associated with Manchester United’s 1999 Treble. After helping United secure the English Premier League title, he scored in the FA Cup final against Newcastle and then, four days later, netted the equaliser and laid on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s winner in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
In total, he captured three Premier League titles with United and in the 2000-01 season he won both of the English game’s Footballer of the Year awards. He was capped 51 times by England and also had two successful spells at Tottenham Hotspur.
Teammate Beardsley, meanwhile, will be a busy man during his Hong Kong visit. As well as playing for CLA Discovery Bay, he will be seeking to raise funds for Newcastle’s famous Wallsend Boys Club, which has produced a string of top flight footballers down the years.
In addition, as Newcastle’s football development manager, he will be watching with interest as the club’s young players, once again guided by reserve team coach Willie Donachie, defend their title in the Main competition.
CLA Discovery Bay will also feature former Tottenham midfielder David Howells and ex-Leeds United striker Ian Baird plus two icons of Hong Kong soccer, Dejan Antonić and Tim Bredbury.

Hong Kong giants South China have been confirmed for the HKFC Citibank International Soccer Sevens after winning the First Division title.
The Hong Kong Football Association has pledged that four top flight teams, including the league champions – together with the HKFA Dragons, an age-group representative team – will take part in the tournament.
The first of those four can now be pencilled in as South China were crowned the new kings of local soccer last week. Second-placed Kitchee, winners of the First Division for the past two seasons, could only draw 1-1 with Sun Pegasus – leaving the Caroliners four points clear with one match to play.
Confirmation of South China’s inclusion in the Soccer Sevens adds up to a busy summer for the territory’s most famous club. They will also contest the English Premier League-sanctioned Asia Trophy in July.
“As the league champions, South China are happy to accept the invitation from Hong Kong Football Club and the HKFA to take part in the Soccer Sevens,” said South China convener Steven Lo. “It will provide a good chance for our players to gain experience in the seven-a-side tournament against some of the best young players in England and Scotland.
“Besides preparing for the Asia Trophy this coming July, we are also excited to take on the Soccer Sevens challenge. South China will be doing their best to lift the Soccer Sevens trophy.”
South China, who will be making only their second appearance in the Soccer Sevens since the event started in 1999, are the second seeds in Group C of the Main competition and will face Scottish giants Rangers, the top seeds, plus the HKFA Dragons and Hong Kong Football Club.
They will be seeking to become just the third local team to win the Soccer Sevens after Instant-Dict in 2000 and Kitchee two years ago.
Their Asia Trophy outing, meanwhile, will see them host Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at Hong Kong Stadium from 24-27 July.

Finnish superstar Jari Litmanen has been added to the Aegon Ajax All Stars team looking to mount a successful defence of their Masters title at the HKFC Citibank International Soccer Sevens.
Litmanen, who played 137 times for his country, won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995 and played for European giants Barcelona and Liverpool, is one of five new faces in the squad.
The newcomers also include Aron Winter, who played 84 times for Holland and appeared for Lazio and Internazionale in Italy, and fellow midfielder Kiki Musampa, who had spells with Málaga and Atlético Madrid in Spain and English giants Manchester City.
The two other Soccer Sevens debutants will be striker Gerald Sibon, who played for Holland at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and appeared in 129 matches for English side Sheffield Wednesday, and defender Michel Kreek, a UEFA Cup winner with Ajax in 1992.
The Aegon Ajax All Stars won last year’s Masters competition in style, defeating Hong Kong side Top Class FC 6-1 in the Cup final with a breathtaking display on a rain-soaked pitch.
“As a team, we thoroughly enjoyed the Soccer Sevens last year,” said Dick Schoenaker, coach of the Aegon Ajax All Stars and a World Cup finalist in 1978.
“The players had a great time both on and off the pitch and we were thrilled to be able to show Hong Kong fans the style of football for which Ajax are famous.
“We are looking forward to coming back to defend the Masters Cup and are relishing the chance to once again take on some of our old friends and opponents from Europe’s top leagues and the local sides.”
Litmanen, an attacking midfielder or second striker, is widely considered Finland’s greatest ever footballer. His international career lasted from 1989 to 2010, giving him the unique distinction of playing for his country in four different decades.
He scored 91 goals in 159 games for Ajax and was in the team that defeated AC Milan to win the Champions League in 1995. He then scored in the 1996 Champions League final against Juventus which Ajax eventually lost on penalties.
Among those returning to the Soccer Sevens for the Aegon Ajax All Stars are former Denmark striker Kenneth Pérez – scorer of four goals in last year’s final and later named as Masters Player of the Tournament – and ex-Nottingham Forest forward Bryan Roy, who won 32 caps for the Netherlands.
Ajax have been drawn in Group C of the Masters competition and will come up against a Rangers All Stars squad that includes former Dutch internationals Arthur Numan and Michael Mols and ex-Germany star Jörg Albertz.

Title sponsors Citibank are committed to helping low-income families as part of their support for the Soccer Sevens.
“This is our third consecutive year sponsoring the Soccer Sevens and I am very happy to bring this important sports event to Hong Kong’s soccer-loving public again,” said Weber Lo, Citi Country Officer and Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong and Macau.
“We want to support the notion of the Hong Kong Government to promote and revitalise soccer; help bring an affordable international soccer tournament to the wider Hong Kong community; and promote soccer, health and sportsmanship to Hong Kong society.
“During the tournament, we will host a range of hospitality and special promotions for our clients and spectators attending the event, and bring in our partner Toys “R” Us to host a kids’ funfair during the event so that both parents and children can enjoy the fun and excitement together.
“We are committed to making a positive contribution to the community in which we serve, and uphold a philosophy of bringing the best, and only the best, to the Hong Kong people.”
As part of its commitment to giving back to the community, Citi will organise a charity lunch for 20 underprivileged families on the last day of the Soccer Sevens, so that these families can also have the opportunity to enjoy the excitement of the tournament.
The families, primarily participants under the Hope Development Accounts (HDA) programme, are from Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long and will be invited through Citi’s non-profit partner, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs).
HDA, jointly run by Citi and TWGHs, aims to alleviate the poverty of low-income families through helping them build assets by a matched savings programme, vocational and financial management training and mentorship over a two-year period.

England great Peter Beardsley will be among a host of former international stars gracing the Masters competition at next month’s HKFC Citibank International Soccer Sevens.
The former Newcastle United and Liverpool striker – winner of 59 England caps and a veteran of the 1986 and 1990 World Cups – will play for Hong Kong side Discovery Bay.
Beardsley won two league titles with Liverpool, in 1988 and 1990, and was in the team that lifted the FA Cup in 1989.
Other newcomers to the Masters competition will be Dutch internationals Arthur Numan and Michael Mols, together with ex-Germany midfielder Jörg Albertz, who will all appear for the Rangers All Stars.
Left-back Numan and striker Mols were both members of the Rangers team that did the treble of Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup in 2003.
Aegon Ajax All Stars will be defending the Masters Cup they won in spectacular fashion last year, with ex-Denmark international Kenneth Pérez, the Masters Player of the Tournament, confirmed to return. Ajax defeated Hong Kong side Top Class FC 6-1 in last year’s final with Pérez netting four times.
Ex-English Premier League regulars Marcus Gayle and Luís Boa Morte will appear in a strong Citibank All Stars team that will also include former England duo Michael Gray and Des Walker, Chelsea old boy Frank Sinclair and former Blackburn Rovers striker Matt Jansen.

English Premier League champions Manchester City will make their debut in the HKFC Citibank International Soccer Sevens next month.
The Eastlands giants will be joined in a formidable Main competition by Newcastle United, who return to defend the Soccer Sevens title they won on their first appearance last year, and newly crowned European U19 champions Aston Villa.
“Manchester City are very much looking forward to participating in this year’s Soccer Sevens,” said the club’s Academy chief, Mark Allen. “We have heard so many good things about the quality and organisation of the competition that it was an easy decision to accept the invitation.
“We are constantly looking for experiences that will enhance our players’ experience both on and off the pitch and the cultural awareness and appreciation provide excellent learning for them. We know it will be a difficult competition with the teams participating and we are looking forward to it.”
Backed by the wealth of their Abu Dhabi owners, City have emerged from the shadow of their illustrious neighbours Manchester United in recent years.
They landed the FA Cup in 2011 and claimed the Premier League title amid unforgettable drama on the final day of last season when Sergio Agüero’s last-gasp winner against Queens Park Rangers saw them pip United on goal difference.
City have a proud history of developing their own talent, even before setting up their Manchester City Academy in 1998. Since then, more than 30 young players have emerged from the Academy to play first-team football for the club, including Micah Richards, Stephen Ireland, Daniel Sturridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Newcastle, meanwhile, made a hugely impressive Soccer Sevens debut last year, winning all six of their matches, culminating in a thrilling 2-1 victory over Villa in the Cup final.
Despite their final loss last year, Villa remain the undisputed Soccer Sevens kings with five titles since the tournament was first held in 1999, with their last success coming in 2010. 
Villa will head to Hong Kong on a high after beating Chelsea 2-0 in the final of the prestigious NextGen Series – Europe’s top U19 club competition – at Lake Como in Italy last week.
English clubs Sunderland and Leicester City and Scottish giants Rangers will also be appearing in Hong Kong again after featuring last year.