Covid-19 claims another sporting event as 2021 Hong Kong Football Club Tens cancelled
- The opener to the Hong Kong Sevens has been called off for the second year in a row
- Organising committee concludes it is ‘not feasible’ to hold the event and turns attention to 2022
The Hong Kong Football Club Tens rugby tournament scheduled for March 31 and April 1, 2021, has been cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers said on Monday.
The HKFC’s rugby section intends to bring the annual 10-a-side volunteer-run invitational – a prelude to the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens and opener to Hong Kong Rugby Week – back to the city in 2022.
“The 2021 tournament has been cancelled due to the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on visiting teams’ funding and international travel and the uncertainty it creates for the organisers and participants,” an official announcement stated. It added the cancellation came following discussions “with a variety of key stakeholders, sponsors and teams”.
“During these extraordinary circumstances, the organising committee has assessed the head winds and challenges, and concluded that it is not feasible to hold the tournament at the high standard expected by the rugby community and enjoyed for so many years previously by sponsors, spectators and teams owing to the restrictions and uncertainties caused by the pandemic,” said Tens organising committee chairman Gareth Wilde.
“This decision has not been taken lightly and it is a great disappointment for us to have to cancel this much-loved event. However, significant efforts are already under way to mark our 35th anniversary in another way in 2021 and for the tournament to be back with a bang for 2022.”
The rugby section said it would consider “other rugby activities” during Hong Kong Rugby Week next year.
Former and current rugby internationals have featured at previous events, including 19 World Cup winners, most recently 2015 World Cup winner Nehe Milner-Skudder of New Zealand, who played with the Penguins.
