Olympics 2024: Hong Kong pulls out of hosting Paris Games’ 3x3 basketball qualifying, blaming cost, months after signing letter of intent

‘We’ve come to the conclusion it is too expensive,’ organiser M1 Group’s CEO says of US$2.55 million cost, despite the city having signed a letter of intent to host

World governing body says Hong Kong trails in the region in 3x3 development but could close the gap if it had a professional team

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The letter of intent is signed by M1 CEO Kenny Wong (left) and Fiba 3X3 managing director Alex Sanchez. Photo: Fiba

Published: 8:28pm, 11 Jul 2023Updated: 8:46pm, 11 Jul 2023

Hong Kong has pulled out of hosting an Olympic qualifying tournament for 3x3 basketball after organisers feared it would lose money, with the world governing body weighing in by saying the city was lagging behind in developing the sport.

Local organisers of next year’s planned final qualifying event said the eight-figure costs were “too much” to bear, prompting Hong Kong to withdraw despite having signed a letter of intent to host it last November.

Global governing body Fiba confirmed to the Post that it was “not dealing any further” with Hong Kong regarding the tournament.

“After reading about the figure, which is in the region of HK$20 million [US$2.55 million], we’ve come to the conclusion it is too expensive,” said Kenny Wong, CEO of organiser M1 Group and one of 28 vice-presidents of the Hong Kong Basketball Association.

Two of Hong Kong’s teams compete at the Fiba 3x3 World Tour event in Victoria Park last year. Photo: Jonathan Wong

“The major problem is we do not have a suitable sponsor. It is difficult to look for sponsors who are willing to splash that kind of money for an event during post-Covid times. We have yet to proceed with seeking government funding, but that was never a problem for us.”

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