Training day with Reds stars
SOME 800 young people, including students from top school football teams, will be offered the chance to train with Michael Owen and his Liverpool teammates on July 26, the day before the English Premier League giants play the SAR national team at Hong Kong Stadium.
The organiser of the Invest Hong Kong Football Challenge 2003 has given tickets for the session to the Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation, which will distribute them among the top 24 schools in this year's Jing Ying football competition.
Another 400 will go to 14 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which care for underprivileged children. The NGOs include The Salvation Army, Hong Kong Children and Youth Service, and Precious Blood Children's Village.
Jockey Club Ti-I College football coach, Fung Hoi-man, said the students would be thrilled.
'Some of our players are big fans of Owen, so they will be really excited,' said Fung. 'Others will be happy just to meet world-class footballers.'
Fung said the young players would receive valuable tips from the stars.
'It's not an opportunity you could get easily, even if you paid for it,' he said.
A spokesperson for InvestHK, a promotional arm of the government, said the tickets should be given to the top football schools because of their 'high level of performance'.
They will get to meet leading players such as Owen, Steven Gerrard and captain Sami Hyypia as well as manager Gerard Houllier and his assistant Phil Thompson.
