Top Hong Kong Rugby Football Union official Trevor Gregory has sent out an SOS to the local rugby community, asking it to get behind the East Asian Games by purchasing a ticket for the two-day event in December.
Tickets for the rugby sevens competition - being played for the first time at the East Asian Games - went on sale three weeks ago and so far only a handful have been sold. Union chairman Gregory issued a desperate plea yesterday to member clubs to get behind the tournament.
'I believe we have sold only around 3,000 tickets. This is a far cry from the response we get for the Hong Kong Sevens and I hope those people who support us at our tournament will also strongly back us at the East Asian Games,' Gregory said.
He called on the local community to come out and support the Hong Kong teams - men and women - in their bid to win medals at the December 5-6 tournament to be played at the 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium.
'I hope we don't play in front of empty stands. If our team get the support they normally get at the Hong Kong Sevens, I believe we can not only win a medal, but a gold one at that,' Gregory said.
'We hope we can recreate the same party atmosphere we have every year at the Hong Kong Sevens. For this we need the wholehearted support of the local rugby community and the public, too.
Of the 22 medal sports at the Games, the union has one of the hardest tasks of selling tickets due to the capacity of the venue. Gregory said the union's targeted aim was to sell at least 25,000 tickets.