Nicknamed the "Troops" (Chinese: 御林軍), the club was founded by former Hong Kong Football Association president Henry Fok in 1959 and wears orange as their primary colour.

In 1974, Henry Fok shocked Hong Kong football by signing Malaysian keeper Chow Chee Keong on a then unheard of salary of $7,000 HKD a month.

[3] Nicknamed "Asia's Steel Door" (Chinese: 亞洲鋼門), he led the team to a Hong Kong FA Cup runners up finish in 1977.

The younger Fok signed a number of Brazilian players such as Jose da Silva who led the team to another runners up finish in the 1984 Viceroy Cup final.

Due to the HKFA's plan to prohibit foreign players from signing professional contracts by 1986, Tsang decided to move early by releasing the Brazilians.