HOPES of bringing one of Asia's top soccer tournaments to the territory hang in the balance due to the uncertainty of the Hong Kong Stadium playing surface.
HK soccer's hierarchy want to stage next February's Dynasty Cup, a four-team round-robin tournament featuring the national teams of China, South Korea, Japan and the territory.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have strongly indicated the tournament could come to Hong Kong as South Korea are the only other country showing interest in hosting the soccer extravaganza from February 20-28.
However, Asia's governing soccer body is likely to bridle at the prospect of staging the tournament at two venues - the Hong Kong Stadium and the 8,500-capacity Mongkok Stadium.
Ironically, the $850 million Stadium was built to accommodate tournaments like the Dynasty Cup but pitch problems continue to be a major setback to all concerned.
The HKFA yesterday faxed the AFC to say they are still experiencing major problems at the proposed venue.