Liverpool legends Kevin Keegan and Terry McDermott help launch ‘most diverse’ Soccer Sevens yet

England and Liverpool greats Kevin Keegan and Terry McDermott helped launch this year’s Hong Kong Football Club Citi Soccer Sevens on Tuesday as clubs from an impressive selection of leagues were confirmed to take part.

Teams from England, Scotland, Germany, Italy and France are set appear at the May seven-a-side tournament.

“We are delighted to announce that this year’s HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens will be the most diverse in its entire history,” said tournament director Chris Plowman at the launch.

“We will be seeing representation from three of continental Europe’s top leagues in Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga as well as our regular visitors from the English Premier League and Scotland’s Premier League, plus teams from the K-League in South Korea, the J.League in Japan, Australia’s A-League, Singapore and, of course, Hong Kong.”

Last year’s event was won by Aston Villa, who have since been relegated from the EPL, but are expected to return as defending champions. The win was a record sixth for Villa who competed alongside Newcastle United, Leicester City and Stoke City in last year’s edition.

The Soccer Sevens has helped to launch the careers of a host of players including Marc Albrighton, who won the Premier League with Leicester City last season, Jack Grealish, Fraser Forster, Gary Cahill and Glen Johnson, and Keegan said the tournament represented a good opportunity for young players at the highest level.