It's not quite the World Cup, but there's no harm in dreaming.
Captains of the teams for the eighth annual five-a-side football tournament at Stanley Fort gathered on Thursday night in Central for the nerve-wracking task of pulling names out of a cup to see who would play whom in mid-December.
Tournament organiser Brian Crockford, who presided over events at Dot Cod, likened the event to Fifa's upcoming draw for next summer's Germany showpiece, saying it 'was a chance to relive those childhood dreams'. It was also a chance to sink a few pints while pressing upon the team captains the need to, yes, play good soccer, but, more importantly, to get lots of sponsorship for Operation Santa Claus.
'I'm hoping we'll reach half a million [dollars] this year,' said Mr Crockford of the event, which will also provide children's entertainment in the form of a bouncy castle. 'We've also organised a children's entertainer for three hours.' This year's tournament - which last year raised $750,000 - kicks off at 9.30am on December 11 at Stanley Fort. Entry is free. Twenty, mostly corporate, teams will be taking part.
There will also be four teams of youngsters taking part in a mini-five-a-side tournament at lunchtime. And if last year is anything to go by, watching the six-year-olds is fun - they understand it's just a game - whereas watching their parents is downright scary. They're more in the 'it's a matter of life and death' league - yelling instructions at their youngsters.
Organising the mini-tournament is Gemma Whiting, who made the fatal error of working with Mr Crockford when she first arrived in Hong Kong several years ago, and has been roped into the tournament ever since.
