LCFC Get Soccer Sevens Preparations Underway

- Players worked on a number of attributes to prepare for the seven-a-side format 

- Lead coach Steve Beaglehole pleased with how quickly his side have adapted to the conditions out in Hong Kong 

- Defender Elliott Moore fired the Noon Day Gun before answering questions from local and national media 

After touching down in Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon, the Foxes began preparations for the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens the following morning at Hong Kong Stadium. 

Aside foreign opposition in the form of HKFA U21 and Singapore Cricket Club and Barclays U21 Premier League outfit West Ham United, the challenge will very much be acclimatising to Hong Kong’s humid environment while being able to sustain a high-level work rate. 

Set among Hong Kong’s towering high-rise buildings, an hour’s training session on Thursday morning at Hong Kong Stadium saw lead coach Steve Beaglehole ready his players in the hope of reclaiming the title they won back in 2013. 

The session began with some stretching, light jogging and short bursts of sprinting, before high-tempo ball work helped replicate the fast-paced nature of seven-a-side football. Attacking and defensive drills followed in a one-on-one format, while all nine players took to the field to work on their positional play to round off the session. 

Beaglehole said: “We expected for the first session given the humidity that the lads are still adapting, but we’re really pleased with how quickly they’ve got into their stride. 

“It’s the youngest group that we’ve brought out here, but it’s a group that’s got a lot of good athletes and that’s exactly what you need out here. 

“It’s a big pitch for a seven-a-side set up and you need players that can get about the park and we’ve certainly got that. 

“As staff, we’ve got the experience of coming here and winning it, so we know what we need to try and do to win it, so we’ve put some of those key points in today’s session. We’ll go into more detail in our final training session on Friday before we kick off.” 

After the morning training session, defender Elliott Moore had the honour of firing the Noon Day Gun on the waterfront of Causeway Bay – a tradition that originated in the 1860s from a dispute between a Royal Navy Officer and a Jardine employee - to officially launch the Soccer Sevens tournament. 

A member of each participating team watched Elliott carry out the Noon Day Gun tradition, before the skipper answered questions from local and national media ahead of the tournament. 

Thursday afternoon then saw the players take some down time, before they complete their final training session on Friday morning ahead of the tournament. 

The Foxes get underway against HKFA U21 on Saturday afternoon, while the Masters tournament kicks-off on Friday evening, with HKFC Chairman’s Select facing Discovery Bay. 

Stay tuned into LCFC.com in the coming days to keep up-to-date with Leicester City’s progress out in Hong Kong.