Meet Kyle Lau ’20, alumnus, professional footballer, and scholar who excels both on the pitch and in the classroom. Currently playing as a forward for Hong Kong Premier League club Lee Man and representing the Hong Kong Football Team, Kyle has built a standout athletic career since his time at CIS, balancing elite sports with exceptional academic achievement.
Name: Kyle Lau
Graduating Year: 2020
Current place of residence: Hong Kong
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m Kyle, 24 years old, currently a professional footballer and soon to be Schwarzman Scholar. Been at CIS since Year 3.
When did you discover your passion and talent for football?
My passion started from kicking the ball around with my friends during breaktime and lunch, but it was really only Y7 or Y8 where I realised that I was pretty talented and decided to focus on football (I used to play a lot of other sports, such as tennis, golf, table tennis, and cross country).
What is your funniest or most memorable moment from playing on the CIS football team?
Just being able to play football with my best friends – it’s something I miss a lot, and it was a pity we couldn’t compete in our final year (due to Covid).
What has been the most memorable moment of your professional career so far, whether playing for Lee Man or representing Hong Kong on the national stage?
Either scoring in the Guangdong Cup, which is also my first senior-team goal, or starting for HK against Bangladesh at Kai Tak in front of 50,000 home fans.
Hong Kong football has been gaining significant momentum recently. What are your personal goals for the sport locally, and where do you hope to see the national team go in the coming years?
I just want to see Hong Kong rise in the FIFA rankings, be able to challenge and beat the top nations in Asia, and consistently make big continental competitions such as the AFC Asian Cup. My personal goal is just to help the team reach these heights.
What advice would you give to current CIS student-athletes who are trying to excel in sports while also figuring out their future academic and career paths?
It’s definitely tough balancing both, and you will need to make sacrifices—just don’t overthink or complicate things. Focus on doing your best academically and athletically without putting too much pressure on yourself to have everything figured out right now. The right opportunity will always come. I didn’t think I would ever play professional football after undergrad, but I kept grinding and eventually the opportunity came. Most importantly, remember why you love your sport; that passion will fuel your discipline and push you to perform well in both arenas.
Being named a Schwarzman Scholar is an incredible honour. What motivated you to pursue this specific program, and what do you hope to gain from your time at Tsinghua University?
I’m pursuing this program because I plan to work in Asia long‑term, and I think that requires first‑hand experience in China—learning the culture, norms, and landscape on the ground. I also hope to deepen my global perspective, especially on the vital US‑China relationship as I think knowledge of it is becoming increasingly pertinent in the world we live in. I’m also eager to join an extraordinary, diverse cohort of leaders, which I hope I can learn a lot from.
Quickfire round – give us the first answer you think of
- Your best and worst subject at CIS: Best: Economics, Worst: Theory of Knowledge
- Any quirky pre-game rituals? Need to eat chicken and rice.
- If you could play alongside any footballer in history—past or present—who is your dream strike partner? Cristiano Ronaldo
- Your celebrity crush: my celeb crush during CIS was Jennie from Blackpink
- A song that always puts you in a good mood: Eenie Meenie – Sean Kingston, Justin Bieber
What is your favourite memory from CIS?
Probably Y11 project week trip to South Africa, had such a fun time with some of my best friends from CIS hiking, and was awesome that we got to experience a totally different continent together.
Name your CIS 11-a-side football team
GK: Edward Kok (only played 2 games for CIS, but he’s my best mate, so he’s in)
Defence: Liam Agee, Matteo Feltracco, Wang On Yuen, Ethan Li
Midfield: Michael Yu, Yul Ahn, Sander Kujis
Attack: Ethan Chen, Myself, Ryan Yan
How did the teachers and coaches support you when you were trying to juggle schoolwork with your football ambitions? How did your time at CIS help lay the foundation for that kind of dual success?
The teachers at CIS were generally very lenient and willing to work with me one-on-one to create a plan for when I’d be away, as well as a clear strategy to catch up on my return. That proactive communication meant I never felt like I was falling behind academically while pursuing football.
That said, my parents’ support was probably even more important—they always believed in my dream and backed me fully, and that gave me the stability and confidence to keep pushing forward.
I think my time at CIS really taught me lessons on discipline and sacrifice. The academic work was pretty rigorous and demanding, and balancing that with football meant giving up a lot of free time—weekends, evenings with friends. But learning to make those sacrifices early on made me more focused and resilient, and those habits have stuck with me ever since.