The 2016–17 season was R&F's first season in the top-tier division in Hong Kong football. R&F competed in the Premier League, Senior Challenge Shield, FA Cup and Sapling Cup in this season.
On 1 August 2016, R&F (Hong Kong) was accepted to play in the Hong Kong Premier League with following conditions: (1) Signing at least eight Hong Kong players. (2) Using at least three Hong Kong players in a match. (3) Non-Chinese/Hong Kong player could not be registered in the club. (4) Sponsoring a cup competition with a fee of $1 million. The club finished their inaugural season in 10th place with 3 wins, 1 draw and 16 defeats in the 2016–17 Hong Kong Premier League, which secured to stay in the top flight for the next season.
Coaching staff
{ |class="wikitable" |- !Position !Staff |- |Head coach|| Li Zhihai |- |Team leader||rowspan="2"| Leung Chi Wing |- |Assistant coach |- |Team physician|| Chen Liang |- |Physiotherapist|| Liu Zhixing