We refer to the letter from Cheryl Preston headlined, 'Loss of pitch will be blow for young players' (South China Morning Post, November 24).
Hong Kong Resort Co shares Ms Preston's view regarding the importance of sports to children.
As such, the company has always placed a high priority on providing residents with a wide variety of recreational activities and opportunities, as evidenced by the many facilities in Discovery Bay that cater to these needs. As for football, there is a football pitch outside Discovery Bay International School for residents' use free of charge (except evenings) upon booking.
It should be made clear that Hong Kong Football Academy is a for-profit venture that charges a fee for each child in its programmes. The academy originally used the international school's field for its programmes. However, preferring a grass field to the synthetic turf at the school, the academy wished to use the grass area adjacent to Discovery Bay Marina Club. This is, in fact, the officially designated emergency helicopter landing site for the Government Flying Services. It was not built nor intended for use as a sports field for public use.
Contrary to the impression left by Ms Preston's letter, our concerns on this issue are unrelated to profits but rather centre on the issue of liability.
JOYCE YU