The team is selected from the top players in the Hong Kong First Division League. Both Hong Kong and foreign players, including those from mainland China, can be included in the team.
In recent years, to order to enable local footballers to gain more international experience, the Hong Kong Football Association has fielded the Hong Kong national football team in matches which were previously played by the Hong Kong League XI. Therefore, the League XI has not formed a squad for a few years. However, the team returned and competed in the 2007 Lunar New Year Cup.[needs update]
^ abcdeHong Kong Football Association sent a team that consisted of players who represented Republic of China (Taiwan) and Hong Kong, as well as Western expatiates from 1957 to 1961; they did not participate in 1962; in the 1963 to 1967 editions, Republic of China (Taiwan) formally joined the tournament, despite all Republic of China international footballers being based in Hong Kong;[2][3] the Hong Kong national team also joined from the 1965 edition in parallel with Republic of China national team
^Mostly Eastern AA players; all ethnic Chinese, most of them capped for Republic of China (Taiwan) (9 out of 14),[4][5] with the exception of Ko Po Keung [zh] and Szeto Yiu (司徒堯) who capped for Hong Kong, as well as uncapped Kwok Yau (郭有) who later capped for Republic of China (Taiwan); overlapped with the squad of Hong Kong Chinese official football team
^Mostly KMB players, most of them capped for Republic of China (Taiwan)[6]
^ 華協會長沈瑞慶赴台接洽昨返港 中華民國決定參加默迪卡賽. Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong. 24 July 1963. p. 16 – via Hong Kong Public Libraries.
^ 中國决定參加默迪卡足球賽. Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong. 7 August 1964. p. 3 – via Hong Kong Public Libraries.
^ Written at Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong. 默迪卡國際足球賽結束 聯合邦元首嚴端 以總理杯贈港球隊. Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). content from Agence France-Presse was incorporated. Hong Kong. 9 September 1957. p. 8 – via Hong Kong Public Libraries.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)