Last week Hong Kong played host to the Premier League Asia Trophy, which featured Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion. The event is part of the Premier League’s ongoing development of the sport throughout Asia, and the tens of thousands that enjoyed the action at Hong Kong Stadium saw Liverpool emerge victorious with a 2-1 decision over Leicester City.
The Club donated about HK$31 million for redesigning and reconstructing the pitch infrastructure and drainage at Hong Kong Stadium, sourcing the turf from China and supervising its installation. Our experts also helped train stadium management to ensure its upkeep. The feedback on the performance of the pitch, coming from the individual clubs, football executives and visiting VIPs, was quite good. Given the extreme weather that we experienced in recent weeks, with sporadic heavy downpours and limited sunshine which impacts the growth of the turf, the reviews of the pitch were particularly pleasing and helped turnaround the image of Hong Kong Stadium. My many thanks to our team that helped support this event which provides an exciting outlet for our local football fans and international visitors to enjoy some of the sport’s top teams.
Of course, our total commitment to football development in Hong Kong has been extensive, both in terms of hardware (actual facilities) and software (various programmes), with the Charities Trust donating more than HK$553 million for football development in Hong Kong. This includes more than HK$260 million for the construction of various football training centres around Hong Kong and a 5-year-plan with about HK$120 million in donations with the HK Football Association focused on grassroots training, youth development, women’s football, futsal, sports science support, refereeing and coaching. These more recent donations include all of the elements needed to grow Hong Kong football into a thriving and inclusive sport for all.
We are also in the sixth year of our collaboration with Manchester United which has produced some of the most popular training programmes in the city, including the School Development Scheme, Youth Leadership Scheme, HKJC Soccer 4 and MUSS clinic, professional coaching seminars and the Youth Academy Summit. In August, Manchester United’s youth squad will be visiting Hong Kong and playing with youth from our city. The programmes are designed to develop the physical, mental and social capabilities of young people.
Our local support also extends with regular events such as the HKJC Community Cup and the HKJC N-League. This is all part of the Club’s broader long-term commitment to sports development in Hong Kong, driving “Sports For All,” and football is most definitely a strategic sport under that banner. I wish you all the best for a continued enjoyable summer and hopefully you or someone you know is actively involved in our many football-related initiatives.
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