Magical Messi fails to cast spell on Hong Kong for friendly
Argentina superstar's appearance isn't enough to fill the Hong Kong Stadium for Tuesday night's friendly as organisers brace for a financial loss
Even the magic of Lionel Messi has not been able to conjure up a crowd for the grandly titled "HKFA Centennial Celebration" with chairman Brian Leung Hung-tak admitting tonight's exhibition against Argentina would be a loss-making exercise.
They were praying for miracles last night. Leung hoped for 20,000 extra fans to turn up and make the "once-in-a-lifetime match" a sell-out, and Kim Pan-gon, the coach of Hong Kong, for one of the greatest upsets of all time.
Messi and his teammates, still smarting from a 2-0 defeat by rivals Brazil over the weekend in Beijing, limbered up at an empty Hong Kong Stadium yesterday before organisers closed the doors to a handful of fans hoping for a glimpse of their heroes.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Messi, and not only him but a number of other stars. It looks like we will make a loss
There was no Messi mania - much to the dismay of the Hong Kong Football Association, which has sold under 20,000 tickets, or half the capacity of the So Kon Po venue, leaving Leung wondering what is needed to ignite the public's interest.
"I can't understand why we haven't sold more tickets," said Leung. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Messi, and not only him but a number of other stars. It looks like we will make a loss."
Leung and three other HKFA directors have agreed to underwrite the one-off match, with the cost estimated at HK$30 million. They will need to sell all the seats at an average of HK$800 - the most expensive ticket is HK$1,800 and the cheapest HK$490 - to break even. They are not even close to it.
"We are very lucky to get Argentina," he said. "We got them simply because they had come to Beijing. We wanted a big team to celebrate our 100th anniversary.