“But there will be financial concerns if the union won’t be able to hold events for a long time … If it has any need, the government will offer subsidies.”

While other countries and cities have begun to gradually reopen after Covid-19 forced a global lockdown, Hong Kong has continued to impose some of the strictest mandatory isolation rules in the world.

Previous postponements have already forced the rugby union to exhaust its financial reserves and reduce headcount by more than 40 per cent, including closing its professional players programme.

Originally the sixth stop on this season’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, the city becomes the first stop for the following year, and will host a second tournament six months later in its traditional spring slot.

“We would welcome any further assistance from the government – the Home Affairs Bureau has always been supportive, and I know appreciates the contribution the union makes to the community,” said Robbie McRobbie, chief executive officer of the HKRU.

Yeung said the government had discussed with the union several options for holding the event with minimum Covid-19 risk, but these were all ruled out, including an idea to run the tournament behind closed doors, without spectators.

“We have considered this option but we think that this is not feasible,” he said. “Purely relying on its broadcasting rights for revenue is financially inviable. A closed-door operation will pose a heavy financial burden on the HKRU.”

Yeung pointed out that the main source of income for Hong Kong Sevens organisers was from ticketing and souvenir sales, as well as from on-site food and drinks services.

He added that other approaches also did not make the cut, such as a closed-loop management model under which athletes and relevant staff would be confined to certain places to minimise infection risks.

“Hong Kong Sevens involves some 40 teams with each having more than 10 players. They have very close contact during the matches so it’s not easy to manage infection risks,” Yeung said.

The HKRU earlier warned that the longer elite sporting events were unable to be staged in the city, the greater the risk they could disappear from the calendar altogether.

But Yeung said he was confident Hong Kong Sevens would make a comeback.

“No expert has ever said the Covid-19 pandemic will persist forever. I am confident that when this is over, Hong Kong Sevens will return,” he said.

As several sports event organisers such as for the coming Harbour Race and the Hong Kong Cyclothon have forbidden participants from making political statements, concerns were raised if some ordinary slogans such as “Hong Kong add oil” will be banned from venues.

Quizzed on the issue, Yeung said it was international practice to bar participants from making political statements at sporting events.

“Political messages shouldn’t be brought into sports events,” he said. “But the words ‘add oil’ are very common. We need to consider the overall circumstances to decide if words like these are intended to incite people. We can’t just take them at face value.”

As to whether the government will purchase broadcasting rights for the 2022 Asian Games, Yeung said no decision had been made, and authorities needed to consider many factors, such as whether local TV broadcasters would be interested in airing the competitions.

Additional reporting by Nazvi Careem