Photo credit: SCMP
Were happiness to be somehow quantifiable, then Cheung Wai-ki's emotions must have been running off the charts as she signed a one-year deal with Australian W-League side Brisbane Roar yesterday.
This latest venture abroad marks a major step forward in the 26-year-old's career, who embarked on a brief stint in the Japanese second division on the back of a successful season for Citizen AA in 2015.
In addition, she makes history as the first Hong Konger to play professional football in Australia.
Photo credit: SCMP
"I'm incredibly happy," said Wai-ki, who not too long ago had to start her day at 4am working at a local "cha chaan teng" to support her family.
"Once I got the news, I hugged my sister and cried. It truly is a dream come true!"
While her 1.80m frame will place her in good stead, the forward will now look to embrace a different challenge altogether- to make the most of her opportunities to carve out a name for Hong Kong footballers abroad.
Photo credit: HKFA
"This is a fantastic achievement and I wish her well," wrote Mark Sutcliffe, CEO of the Hong Kong Football Association.
"Over the last few years I have taken pride in watching her and others in her cohort developing from players with enthusiasm and potential into really talented footballers."
"To some people it’s not important but to me it is fundamental. Girls and women have just as much right as boys and men to play football and they derive an equal amount of benefit and pleasure from playing."
"Girls and women’s football is the fastest growing sport in the world and Hong Kong is at the forefront of this change. "
Photo credit: Bury Times
Safe to say that with success stories such as Chan Yuen-ting's sensational HK Premier League triumph with Eastern and Dai Wai-Tsun's heroics with Bury FC in the third division of English football, the HKFA camp must be abuzz with excitement.
In the meantime, Wai-ki will be lacing up her boots in preparation for the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan, before joining up with her new teammates on the 29th of September.