Kenneth Kwok, the newly appointed head coach of Macau's men's football team, is drawing parallels between his current mission and his role in the ViuTV reality show, "Goal To Success." Just as he guided women with no prior football experience on the show, he now aims to transform Macau's national team, which is currently ranked 193rd in the world. Kwok took over the position in November 2024, succeeding Lázaro Oliveira.
Kwok's coaching career began in 2011, and he holds an AFC Professional Coaching Certificate. He has coached several teams in Hong Kong, including the HKSAR men's team as an assistant coach and the city's youth teams as head coach. He has also coached several Hong Kong Premier League and Taiwan First Division clubs. Before taking the Macau job, he was the head coach of Hong Kong first division team Sham Shui Po.
One of Kwok's first priorities was to secure more high-level match experience for his amateur squad. In March 2025, Macau played two closed-door friendlies against Chinese Taipei. In another friendly match, Macau lost to Hong Kong 2-0. Kwok expressed pride in his players' perseverance and acknowledged Hong Kong's victory.
Kwok faces several challenges in his new role. Football in Macau is entirely amateur. Also, a FIFA ruling in the past year stripped the team of several key Portugal-born players who were permanent residents but did not have Macau passports. Kwok hopes to develop local players and create pathways for them to turn professional, either locally or in Asia. He believes that focusing on opportunities in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, or Vietnam would be more beneficial for players than aiming for Europe.
Kwok has expressed a desire to see more training and resources for the team. He hopes the government can provide more venues and resources. To reach a semi-professional level, players need to train at least every other day, and professional teams train three times every two days.
Despite the challenges, Kwok remains optimistic about the future of football in Macau. He acknowledged that achieving his target of leading Macau into the next AFC Asian Cup main qualifying draw would be "very difficult". He hopes to lower the average age of players in the next three years and that the team will improve with more professional players.
Kwok's coaching style has earned him the nickname "Hong Kong Klopp" from the Hong Kong media, a comparison to former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.
While focused on revitalizing football in Macau, Kwok has also admitted that managing Hong Kong would be his "ideal job." He hopes to see a local coach take charge of the Hong Kong team soon.