The other Rangers FC founded by a Glaswegian 6000 miles away ...

A Glasgow émigré just couldn't bear to leave his beloved Rangers behind when he moved 6,000 miles away — so he created a football club that featured former Rangers stars and, just once, a Ballon d'Or winner.

6,000 miles from Glasgow, a team takes to the field with a familiar crest on their light blue shirts.

Towering skyscrapers surround the Tsing Yi Sports Ground on the banks of the blue waters of Gin Drinkers Bay. The team are Hong Kong Rangers, wearing the famous 'RFC' badge of their Glaswegian forebears.

The team was founded by a Glasgow-born visionary who brought the first western players to Asian football, including a man once named the best player in the world. Ian Petrie founded Rangers Football Team in 1958 and guided them to the top of Hong Kong football in 24 years as owner and manager.

In 1970, after twelve years of moderate success, Petrie took out advertisements in Scotland urging professionals to try their luck in the Far East. Three Glaswegians answered the call, with Motherwell's Derek Currie, defender Jackie Trainer and Walter Gerrard — of the Berwick Rangers team that beat the big Rangers at Ibrox in 1967 — answering the call.

The three Scots proved a huge hit in Hong Kong, with Rangers winning the double in the trio's first season. Other British stars followed, including bona fide (Glasgow) Rangers stars in Willie Henderson, who made over 400 appearances for the Ibrox club; as well as cousins Jim Forrest and Alex Willoughby.

The club went on to win the 1975 Hong Kong Senior Challenge Shield, Hong Kong's premier knockout competition. Petrie has been described as famous in Hong Kong, but not necessarily popular.

Derek Currie, who spent just two seasons club, was quoted in the South China Morning Post as saying: "Although I never got on great with Petrie; Jackie, Walter and I owe him a big debt for changing our lives and giving us the opportunity to sample life in the 'Pearl of the Orient' that was Hong Kong."

The club's golden decade ended with relegation to the Second Division in 1978. Petrie left Hong Kong temporarily, but returned to Rangers in 1980, again as owner and manager. In the 1980s, more western stars found a home in Hong Kong.

In 1982, England's World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore joined Rangers' Hong Kong rivals Eastern as manager, bringing along fellow World Cup winner Alan Ball as his star player. Not to be outdone, Rangers brought in a Ballon d'Or winner.

Manchester United legend George Best had won the European Cup and Ballon d'Or aged just 22 in 1968. Now 35, Best had failed to agree terms with Second Division side Bolton Wanderers after leaving Hibernian and playing in the states for the San Jose Earthquakes.

It was his ninth different club after leaving Manchester United. Before returning to Britain to play for Bournemouth, Best pulled on the Hong Kong Rangers jersey and played one match alongside fellow Northern Irish international Derek Spence. While in Hong Kong, Best spent his time playing darts with other footballers and some sports journalists in a team called 'Presstuds'.

Hong Kong Rangers still play in Hong Kong's top division. In June 2022, Glasgow's Rangers announced a partnership with the Hong Kong club.

The partnership saw Rangers commit to sending coaches to Hong Kong to conduct sessions with Hong Kong Rangers players. The deal also gave teams from Hong Kong Rangers the opportunity to travel to Scotland on tours and experience the Rangers Soccer Academy set-up.

The club's revolutionary founder Ian Petrie returned to Glasgow and died in Linthouse in 2006, aged 73.

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