Passport eligibility rule raises conundrum for players
Giving up citizenship to represent Hong Kong in rugby sevens is a difficult decision
What would you give up for your career? Sportspeople are known for making sacrifices to chase their dreams, but those yearning to represent Hong Kong in rugby sevens and do not hold a Hong Kong passport face a difficult decision: renounce their native citizenship or retire to the bench.
A HKSAR passport will be mandatory at the Asian Games in September, for next year's regional qualifiers for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and, of course, the Games.
This rules out almost half of the 24 men and women who played for Hong Kong at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens three weeks ago and threatens to derail the region's Olympic ambitions for the sport.
It comes down to the question: how much are you willing to sacrifice? If it was a matter of the Olympics, I’d give it up in a heartbeat … but for now, I’m just not sure
Acknowledging every non-HKSAR passport holder's decision is different depending on their nationality, but the head of technical development and performance at the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, Dai Rees, believes the choice is nevertheless straightforward.
"Players want to maximise their opportunities to play for Hong Kong … it's not a question really," he says.
But for a handful of players, the decision is far from easy. For Americans, renouncing citizenship is irrevocable.
For those young and uncertain of their future, giving up the citizenship of their birth means potentially losing the ability to live and work near families in the future.