Hong Kong football chiefs ‘not advanced enough, could be doing much better job’ – and city should legalise gambling on matches, national team star Philip Chan says
- ‘Gambling should be legal – it attracts investment,’ Chan says, adding city is ‘a long way from making Hong Kong football a proper industry’
- Vision and urgency needed, but ‘that is Hong Kong: you have to go through 80 different departments for one minor change’
Philip Chan Siu-kwan says Hong Kong footballers are being failed by a local governing body lacking vision and urgency, and which “does things that cannot be explained”.
One of Hong Kong’s stand-out performers at last month’s Asian Cup in Qatar, the Tai Po midfielder said the sport was “in a stalemate” in the city, and the football association and government gave players insufficient support. He also insisted the ban on gambling on local football should be relaxed.
“The players are doing their best, and some of the games are of a high standard,” Chan said. “But we are all waiting for the day when the Hong Kong football ecosystem is healthier.
“That does not come down to the players, or team [owners]. I think the Hong Kong FA really needs to take a look at itself. They are not advanced enough, and have not lived up to expectations. They could be doing a much better job.
“At the Asian Cup, we saw for other teams, football, essentially, is a form of modern warfare, an index for the health of the nation. In Hong Kong, there are too many things that need improving.
“We need better broadcast deals, more sponsors and more attention. The pitches are poor, and at Tai Po we train on AstroTurf, and have only 1½ hours [at a public facility]. It will not change in the next 10 years, if nobody steps up.
“And, I am not afraid to say it, gambling should be legal – it attracts investment. We are not even close to [acting on] that, and still a long way from making Hong Kong football a proper industry.”
In 2003, the government, which has long resisted calls to allow gambling on football in the city, granted the Jockey Club permission to operate markets on overseas matches. It is feared that betting on local fixtures would leave them vulnerable to match-fixing.