Things only get better in university football. The 2003 Philips Hong Kong Universities Football League, the exclusive tertiary-level competition, is offering the champions big prizes and a place in the annual International Soccer Sevens at Happy Valley. Last year the inaugural Philips league was a mere sideshow to the Hong Kong Post Secondary Colleges Athletic Association's (HKPSCAA) traditional competition. But now that Philips has officially become the title sponsor of the HKPSCAA competition, there can be no question that the Philips-sponsored league is the number-one event at tertiary level. The tournament, which features all 11 institutions in the SAR, began in mid-November and reaches the semi-final stage this weekend. Last year's HKPSCAA champions City University (CityU) clash with Chu Hai College, and Philips league title-holders Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) play Chinese University for a place in the final on March 1. The champions will win a DVD player and television, with each team member getting a Philips 'Ear Gear' MP3 player. In last year's Philips final, HKIEd held CityU to a 0-0 draw and then beat them 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out. Two weeks earlier, CityU had taken the HKPSCAA title with a 3-1 victory over HKIEd. The theme of this year's Philips competition is 'let's make things better', and the electronics giant has lived up to those words by getting more non-playing students involved in the four-month-long programme. According to Philips, thousands of students are competing for prizes in several new areas, including advertising campaigns, team slogans, Web site designs and photography, while cheering on their college mates at the matches. 'We wanted to take things a step further this year and make this an event for all students - not just the players,' said Philips senior brand manager Ada Lee. Philips is a big supporter of football around the world. It is the sponsor of top Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, as well as university leagues in Europe, Brazil and mainland China. The company has plans to create an international university football league in the future. Philips Lighting sponsors the soccer sevens in Hong Kong.
