The Lunar New Year Cup, the most popular event on the local calendar, is likely to be scrapped in its current form because organisers face difficulties getting quality teams to play in Hong Kong during the holiday period.
Popularly known as the Carlsberg Cup, the event looks likely to shift from its usual dates and will also lose its title sponsor.
'We have plans to switch the event to an earlier date and so there will be no more international tournament for the Chinese New Year,' said Martin Lam Chun-ying, general secretary of the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA), yesterday. 'Of course we want to stage an international event to celebrate the biggest Chinese festival, but we face great difficulty in bringing in good teams during that period.
'Most of the European countries will be playing their leagues during the Chinese New Year, and with more and more live coverage of European football in Hong Kong, fans will go to the stadium only if the top teams are coming, but unfortunately the timing does not fit.' Lam said Carlsberg, which has sponsored the event since 1994, will not continue its association with the tournament. 'As there will be no international tournament happening here during the Chinese New Year, there will be no more Carlsberg Cup. But they will continue to support football in one way or another, depending on what sort of event we are going to host in Hong Kong,' said the official.
A spokesman from the brewery said yesterday it was still studying the possibility of a deal with the HKFA and more details will be revealed in two weeks.
Lam added that they were now looking at an earlier date for an international tournament, which will occur around the 'Fifa fixed date for international friendly matches', slated for February 7. Next year, the Lunar New Year day is on February 18.
