Editorial | Sports bodies need to up their anthem game
- Officials must take their responsibilities seriously and ensure there is no repeat of national song mix-ups at international events
The repeated mix-ups that lead to a Hong Kong protest song being played at international sports events instead of the national anthem do nothing for the reputation of the city.
Problems exposed during investigations into the most recent incident, at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Bosnia last month, are no less embarrassing, with a local sports group openly criticised for its poor governance in relation to the blunder.
The sports community must take the matter seriously and put its house in order.
The severity of the gaffe is reflected in the tough rhetoric of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, the body overseeing the sports sector.
It said the Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association only paid lip service to the new guidelines aimed at preventing such mistakes.
“The association should bear the consequences of such ill management … The incident could definitely have been avoided,” federation chief Timothy Fok Tsun-ting said, referring to the playing of “Glory to Hong Kong” instead of “March of the Volunteers” by the organiser at the end of a match between the city and Iran.