An Interview with Seb Buddle, the British Footballer Representing Hong Kong Football

Professional football player Seb Buddle, 21, has come a long way from being a young British boy living in Mui Wo with his parents to his first debut representing Hong Kong in a professional football match last month in Japan.

Born and bred in Hong Kong, Seb has been playing football since the age of 3, motivated by his family who had grown up “loving football” and supporting his hometown club, Arsenal FC.

After 11 years of playing football with his club Kitchee, Seb’s dream came true to represent his home country with his first professional cap with the Hong Kong U23 team against Japan U23 team on Oct. 28, 2021, for the AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers for the 2022 Uzbekistan tournament.

Seb was born to British parents and has spent most of his life growing up in the quiet expat-heavy area of Discovery Bay. Studying at West Island School in Pokfulam, he was always passionate about playing football, driven by his father who had inspired him to play.

“I never planned to be a pro footballer,” Seb told The Beat Asia. He had begun playing for his school football team entering year seven and Kitchee’s Youth Team when he was 10 years old. “One day the coach from the first team at Kitchee came to school and called me up and three others to the first team. Of course, we wanted to [join and play professionally.]”

Seb began in 2010 playing for Kitchee Youth, transferring in July that year to the Kitchee reserve team, and then in July 2016, received his call up to the men’s team who play in the Hong Kong Premier League.

His call-up and inception of his professional footballing career came coincidentally during the last two years of his high school studies, enrolled in the intense International Baccalaureate system studying six subjects in mathematics, English, a foreign language, a science-based subject, a liberal-arts study, and a creative choice.

“West Island [School] were really flexible in accommodating the extension of my IB program to three years, splitting the 2nd and 3rd with three subjects for each year,” he says.

His study-football schedule was intense and not easy on the budding footballer.

Seb would wake up at 6:30 AM daily, travel to school for an hour class beginning at 8:30 AM, go to training from 10:30 AM to 1 PM, back to school from 2 PM to 3:15 PM, and then return to Discovery Bay to study.

He was thankful for the support of both his girlfriend and West Island School for the motivation to balance the two disciplines: aiming for a top mark in the hard IB program and challenging for a place on the weekly team sheets in the Premier League.

Seb’s perseverance through high school and dedication to training with the Kitchee men's team helped Kitchee win the 2018 Sapling Cup against Wofoo Tai Po at Hong Kong Stadium.

The "proudest moment of [his] career," Seb played 85 minutes of the 2-1 win against their rivals, helping his team lift the trophy.

“This was a great feeling as my main target for the season was to win this trophy, and Kitchee had never won this competition before. It was great to celebrate on the pitch afterwards with fans, and my friends and family.

“Making my professional debut at Mong Kok Stadium at 17 was very special to me. The fans were chanting my name. That was a great experience.”

In 2018, following the Sapling Cup win, Seb met with the Ken Ng, chairman of Kitchee Football Club, to discuss his future and the plan crafted specifically for the young British player.

“He had a clear plan for me to get the Hong Kong passport, play for the local and national team, and join in continental [and regional] competitions for the Hong Kong team,” Seb said.

Seb procured his Hong Kong passport in 2019, allowing him to represent the country he has only known on a professional and regional football stage.

With Kitchee, Seb had been a part of the professional team that won the treble Premier League, FA Cup and Sapling Cup for the 2017/18 season, the Senior Shield for the 2016/17 season, and the double Premier League and Sapling Cup for the 2019/20 season.

On Oct. 23 2019, Seb scored his first professional goal against Lee Man for Kitchee during a Sapling Cup match that saw them win the title.

Seb recalls the latest 2019/20 season playing with Kitchee and the battle with rivals Eastern FC to win the title. “We were neck and neck with Eastern throughout the end of the season. Each team had to win every game. We unfortunately slipped up to Southern [FC]; Eastern drew to Rangers [FC].”

“I didn’t get to play the last game but we won 2-0 against Eastern on the final day of the season at Hong Kong stadium.”

When asked about his involvement with Kitchee, Seb recalled his love and commitment to the club. “I have felt a part of the club for 11 years since I began playing at 10 years old. They have always been good to me.”

“A commitment from an early age, I had to travel from DB (Discovery Ba) to Choi Hung and Sha Tin (Kitchee’s training grounds), a two-hour travel time.”

Playing in a majority-foreign team at Kitchee, Seb has never felt out of place. During his one-year loan to Tsing Yi-based Hoi King football club in the 2018/19 season, however, he experienced the “lost in translation” effects of playing with all local Cantonese players.

“You do stick out like a sore thumb. Everything had to be translated for me [at Hoi King],” Seb explained to The Beat Asia. Born in Hong Kong though, Seb never has felt any different about his identity, “I have always felt like a Hong Konger, I love the culture and the food, but don’t know the language. I obviously have a bit of both [British and Hong Kong culture in me.]”

Returning to Kitchee for the 2019/20 season, Seb received a few more caps playing for the men's team before his current loan spell at HK U23 until the end of the season next year spring, with Kitchee having the option to recall him into the squad in January 2021.

Despite losing both games to Cambodia and Japan in the Asian Cup qualifiers, for the next year's tournament in Uzbekistan, Seb treated the Japan trip as “a great experience and a personal target” for his future involvement playing at a national level. He hopes to break into the team for the Asian Games next year.

With a Hong Kong passport, staying and fighting for games is the future for Seb in Hong Kong. He wants to get more caps under his belt and play football at a national championship level with the opportunities for playing the best teams in Asia.