India, who lost 0-2 to Thailand in their friendly on Wednesday, will have their first training session in Hong Kong on Friday evening at the Jockey Club HKFA Football Training Centre in Tseung Kwan O.
Another member of Márquez's coaching staff, Marc Gamon, the goalkeeping coach, previously worked in Hong Kong for two years at Hong Kong Premier League side Southern District from 2018 to 2020. Gamon, who played second division football in the country, spoke about the new trend of having naturalised players in the Hong Kong national team.
"When I was working in Hong Kong, there were hardly any foreign-born players in the national team. If you are here for seven years, you can get a Hong Kong passport. So more and more foreign players want to stay in the league and get the nationality so that they can play as a local, as only six foreigners are allowed in a club here," the Spaniard explained.
"They are mostly Brazilian and Spanish players. One of the Brazilians in the current national team squad, Stefan Pereira, was at my club, Southern. A Spanish forward, Manolo Bleda from Valencia, who I played against a few years ago, got his Hong Kong passport and made his debut against Nepal yesterday," Gamon shared.
“In terms of spectator interest, horse riding is the top sport in Hong Kong, but with football being the most popular team sport, the national team receives great support,” Gamon said.
"The football culture is amazing. There aren't a lot of fans attending league games, but they come in decent numbers for the national team. They are very patriotic and shout for 90 minutes. But there are also a lot of Indians in Hong Kong, so there will be support for us too. It will be a great atmosphere on Tuesday," Gamon concluded.
https://www.the-aiff.com/article/blue-tigers-to-play-in-hong-kong-after-16-years-look-to-make-things-right