Ex Hong Kong International Cristiano Cordeiro Presents Prizes at

【For Immediate Release】 Ex Hong Kong International Cristiano Cordeiro Presents Prizes at Standard Chartered Junior Soccer Cup 2012 Hong Kong, 27 May 2012 ‐ The finals weekend of the Standard Chartered Junior Soccer Cup 2012 had a surprise visitor for the young players competing on Sunday 27 May. Recently retired Brazilian born, Ex Hong Kong International Cristiano Cordeiro was the special guest at the prize presentation ceremony as the four week tournament came to a close. Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd continued their support for grass roots soccer as title sponsor of the event for the second year. Organized by the Asia Football Coaching Academy, more than 1,200 young footballers from 80 teams played over 176 matches on consecutive weekends in the U10, U12, U14 and U16 divisions. Building on the success of 2011, the Junior Football Cup broke records for players enlisting, once again confirming the popularity of this annual tournament. The prize ceremony was held at King George V School. Fern Ngai, Head of Corporate Affairs of Standard Chartered Hong Kong and Cristiano Cordeiro, presented the awards to the winning teams of Cup Division. Plate winners received their honors from Pui Kwan Kei, Vice President of the Hong Kong Football Association, Jonathan McKinley, Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Bureau, Gavin Mak, Chief Operations Officer for Metro Publishing Hong Kong Ltd, and Edwin Lo King Yau, Director of Asia Football Coaching Academy and Happy Valley Athletic Association. The Soccer Cup finals for U10, U12, U14 and U16 were held before the prize ceremony. A friendly match was also played between a Standard Chartered staff team, and the Hong Kong Sports Press Association, which included guest player Cordeiro who played for 5 years with South China and 7 years with Sun Hei. Fern Ngai of Standard Chartered Hong Kong said, “Our aim in sponsoring this event for the second year has been not only to foster athletic skills in our young people, but also a spirit of teamwork, sportsmanship, and healthy competition. I think you’ll all agree that we’ve seen these qualities in abundance over the past 4 weeks. We have been delighted with the success of the tournament that has been achieved in such a short time. The increased numbers of participants speak for themselves and it is great to see how much these young players not only gain from a good structured approach to developing soccer skills, but how much they enjoy playing in their teams. On behalf of Standard Chartered, I congratulate our partner, the Asia Football Coaching Academy and Metro Publishing Hong Kong Ltd, and all the 1,200 youngsters who participated over the past four weeks.” Raymond Kwong, Asia Football Coaching Academy Director, said, “Our mission has always been to promote the very best elements of soccer training and development for young players. We have seen the growth since 2009 and we hope to popularize football through the Standard Chartered Junior Soccer Cup even more in the future so that more young people can join the sport and share the fun. By offering more opportunities for competition, we also hope to take the skills of young Hong Kong players to even greater heights.” Hong Kong International Cordeiro had the final word at the ceremony when he spoke to the players, “I came from a very similar development as you players here today and it has enabled me to follow my dream and play all over the world, and end my career here in Hong Kong. It is tremendous to see that programmes such as these exist and we hope that one day we will see some players here being as lucky as me to represent Hong Kong.” Result: Cup Division U10 U12 U14 U16 Champion Kitchee Kitchee Kitchee HVAA 1st Runner up Academy U10 Sun Int HVAA Kitchee 2nd Runner up SPC FOOTBALL BSS Academy U14 PNFC Champion Sun Hei MILK Team Spirit SSCC 1st Runner up Tai Po U10 Yuen Long Sun Hei YTM Legend 2nd Runner up Arsenal Southern Yenching Yenching Plate Division U10 U12 U14 U16 Photo Captions Photo 1 Recently retired, former Hong Kong International football player Cristiano Cordeiro (back row, 2nd from left) attends the prize presentation of the “Standard Chartered Junior Soccer Cup 2012”. He also joins the Hong Kong Sports Press Association for a 7‐a‐side friendly match versus Standard Chartered Staff team. Photo 2 Led by Cristiano Cordeiro (4th from right), Hong Kong Sports Press Association wins in the friendly match. Photo 3 Former Hong Kong International football player Cristiano Cordeiro (back row, 12th from left) and Fern Ngai (back row, 11th from left), Head of Corporate Affairs of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd presented prizes to the Champions of Cup Division of the “Standard Chartered Junior Soccer Cup 2012”. ~ End ~ For further information, please contact: ActionHouse International Limited Prudence Tsang: 3102 8105 / 9231 0104 [email protected] Terence Tung: 3102 8118 / 9362 9056 [email protected] Fax: 3102 8109 Note to Editors: Asia Football Coaching Academy (Hong Kong) The Asia Football Coaching Academy (Hong Kong) was established in 2002 and, in 2004, achieved the right to operate the Coerver Football Training Course, one of the world’s best football training programs. Raymond Kwong, director of the school, cooperated with former England and China National Youth Team head coach Keith Blunt, and Singapore coach Jimmy Beh, to establish the Academy. Headquartered in Hong Kong and Singapore, the Academy was granted the franchises to expand its network in Asia, to locations including Shanghai, Si Chuan, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Macau, and India. The Academy was the first soccer school based in Hong Kong to expand across Asia. The Asia Football Coaching Program was specifically designed for Asian youngsters. The course is referenced from the most advanced training methods in Europe and has been modified to fit the young players in Asia. The Asia Football Coaching Academy curriculum is divided into four levels: Football Enlightenment Course (Junior Class), Personal Technology Classes (Individual Class), Elite Training (Elite Class), Team Training (Team Class). In addition, the Academy offers training on techniques, skills, competition, teams, and coaching, utilizing the latest coaching methods. For more information, please visit www.hongkong.asiafca.com. Standard Chartered – Leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East Standard Chartered PLC is a leading international banking group. It has operated for over 150 years in some of the world's most dynamic markets and earns more than 90 per cent of its income and profits in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This geographic focus and commitment to developing deep relationships with clients and customers has driven the Bank’s growth in recent years. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India. With 1,700 offices in 70 markets, the Group offers exciting and challenging international career opportunities for around 87,000 staff. It is committed to building a sustainable business over the long term and is trusted worldwide for upholding high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection and employee diversity. Standard Chartered’s heritage and values are expressed in its brand promise, ‘Here for good’. For more information, please visit www.standardchartered.com.