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Nazvi Careem

HONG Kong will lose the 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens unless local organisers can guarantee a totally ''clean'' stadium.

 Marcel Martin, director of tournament organisers Rugby World Cup Limited, said a contingency plan would be prepared to shift the event to another country if the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union were unable to meet this basic requirement.

 He said he was aware of the recent dispute between the Union and Hong Kong Stadium managers Wembley International over the use of executive suites and other aspects relating to next year's Hong Kong Sevens.

 Wembley have put the 50 suites at the 40,000-seater stadium on public sale and have refused to free them for the Sevens on March 26-27 next year.

 But Frenchman Martin, who left last night after a two-day stay in the territory, said it would be up to the Union to negotiate with Wembley.

 He said one of the preconditions for a host Union is to deliver a clean stadium where the organisers have total control without outside interference.

 ''RWC is a commercial company and we can't run a commercial tournament without a clean stadium. It is up to the stadium managers to decide whether they want this tournament in their stadium or not.

 ''The RWC Sevens is not as big as the 15s tournament, but it will go ahead in 1997. And we would not be prudent businessmen if we did not have a contingency plan.

 ''If the stadium was not clean, we would have a contingency plan to have the tournament in another country.''  The Hong Kong Sevens has been one of the most popular rugby tournaments in the world over the last 18 years.

 On this basis, Hong Kong were awarded hosting rights for the 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens following a successful inaugural tournament in Edinburgh, Scotland earlier this year.

 Wembley, who were appointed by the Urban Council to manage the stadium, are strictly bound by their mandate to run the stadium on a commercial basis, without making concessions for any specific event.

 However, Wembley chief executive officer Alan Murray said they were willing to negotiate.

 ''There will have to be a dialogue on both sides,'' he said. ''Obviously, for such a prestigious event, we cannot do anything silly and we have to be sensible about the whole thing.''  Murray's counterpart at the Union, Dave Roberts, said the Union guaranteed a clean stadium when they bid for the event.

 ''We will have to have negotiations with Wembley. As Marcel said, the over-riding factor is that we provide a clean stadium,'' said Roberts.

 Wembley have recently put the suites on sale for one, two and three-year contracts, which means the first deals would expire at the end of 1996.

 The Union are believed to have guaranteed a clean stadium on this basis.

 Martin said that for RWC's two events so far, the 1991 World Cup 15s and this year's Sevens in Edinburgh, the stadiums provided were clean as required.

 Martin, who visited the stadium yesterday, said an organising committee would soon be formed comprising officials from RWC and the Hong Kong Union.

 He said the dates for the tournament would be decided within the next 12 months.

 The Union have suggested springtime - to take the place of the annual Hong Kong Sevens - or October, after the handover of the territory to Chinese rule.

 Martin said a lot would depend on the international calendar in 1997.

 ''We don't want the tournament to interfere with the international calendar,'' he said. ''Spring is just after the Five Nations tournament in Europe while October would be around the time you get international tours to the Northern Hemisphere.

 ''But the important thing is that we must work with Hong Kong. We have an agreement of what are our rights and duties and what are the Hong Kong Union's rights and duties so our efforts do not overlap.

 ''RWC is there to raise money for the rugby community.''  One of Hong Kong's trump cards in bidding for the tournament was their prediction that the tournament would make a profit.



HK World Sevens under threat