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.
‘Ill management’ by Hong Kong ice hockey group caused anthem mix-up: sports body
“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.
A final report was due to have been submitted to the government on Monday.
The association was criticised for being evasive over the matter, and the federation stressed responsibility should not be borne solely by the team manager.
It said the chairman and executive committee of the body had their own roles to play and accountability also rested with them, but they apparently did not know what had gone wrong when asked for an explanation.
This is not the first time the administration of individual sports groups has come under the public spotlight.
Hong Kong may stop buying Google adverts unless national anthem row is resolved
A 2020 value-for-money report by the Audit Commission exposed a raft of irregularities in relation to the funding and accountability of some bodies.
Even though Hong Kong athletes have gone from strength to strength in international competitions in recent years, the sports sector still has much room for improvement when it comes to governance.
Like it or not, the official guidelines have put the onus on the sports sector to prevent such blunders. But this can only happen when stakeholders take their responsibilities seriously.
