WHAT A DIFFERENCE a decade can make. It seems not so long ago when Lee Kin-wo and Tam Siu-wai, the two core members of all-conquering Eastern in the early 1990s, were household names.
Those were the days when, in 1996, the league grand final between South China and the now-defunct Instant-Dict could draw a crowd of more than 30,000 ecstatic fans to the Hong Kong Stadium.
Fast forward to this year's season finale. The title decider between Happy Valley and Sun Hei last month attracted a mere 2,000 spectators to the Mongkok Stadium.
A month later, South China - the most supported local club - seemed to have put the final nail in the coffin by announcing a severely downsized budget for the coming season.
The move is said to save the club nearly $4 million with an expatriate-free roster - but has marked the end of an otherwise splendid career with the Caroliners for Lee who, at 35, is still one of the best and most popular footballers in Hong Kong.
But has local football really reached the point of no return? Is the First Division, as sceptics suggest, simply waiting for its last large sponsor to pull the plug before reverting itself to an amateur league?
The answer, according to Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) technical consultant Kwok Ka-ming, is two-fold.The future is all about youth development.
