Hong Kong FA ‘open-minded’ but no promise of change after coach Jorn Andersen’s scathing AGM verdict
- Andersen calling for more professional approach, saying he repeatedly finds himself at matches asking, ‘Why have I come today?’
- FA chairman Eric Fok says he welcomes the Norwegian’s input but declines to commit to overhaul
The Hong Kong Football Association’s chairman said he was open-minded about reforming the game in the city after national team coach Jorn Andersen used the governing body’s AGM to blast the standard of domestic matches.
However, Andersen’s wish for an overhaul of the Hong Kong Premier League is unlikely to be granted any time soon, with chairman Eric Fok Kai-shan saying he had to consider the conflicting interests of member clubs.
If Andersen was looking for strong leadership and unequivocal backing, as he deliberates over an offer to extend his contract, he did not find them in Fok’s comments following the HKFA’s annual general meeting on Thursday.
The insufficient quality and intensity of the local league has had Andersen tearing his hair out since his appointment in December 2021.
Talking on stage at the AGM, Andersen issued a series of withering comments about the level of the city’s top division.
Still dressed in his Hong Kong tracksuit top, with his luggage stored in a corner of the Paramount Banquet Hall at Kowloon Bay’s MegaBox following a 20-hour journey from Uzbekistan, Andersen’s words reflected his experience over the preceding week.
He had twice watched his team unable to match the speed, strength and endurance of Uzbekistan in World Cup qualifying games, with a number of players evidently well short of the formidable condition they attained during a month-long camp before January’s Asian Cup finals.
Andersen estimates roughly a fitness drop of around 20 to 30 per cent in some players.
Asked about the HKPL in front of leading FA officials, Andersen said he repeatedly finds himself at matches asking, “Why have I come today?”
“It is so slow, the tempo is so low,” he said. “So many matches are not interesting, one team stays back, the other attacks. [If this continues] we cannot improve Hong Kong football.
“We need better and harder matches, with players fighting. I saw one great game, between Eastern and Lee Man [1-1 draw this month], we need more of these matches, with fighting and high tempo. The step from the HKPL to my team is too big.”
Andersen, who led the city’s under-23s to the semi-finals of last year’s Asian Games, insists Hong Kong boasts a crop of promising young players. “They are hard workers, with good mentalities,” he said.
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“I try to push them, but it is not easy when they do not get playing time in their clubs, which is not always possible in Hong Kong. If they do not play matches, and do not train hard every day … they cannot improve.”
The Norwegian’s words were still ringing in Fok’s ears when he spoke to the Post.
“I think we would have to communicate with the clubs [about implementing Andersen’s suggested changes],” Fok said. “It is not an FA thing, it is a three-way thing.
“We are open-minded, we have to be. We listen to different stakeholders and reach a conclusion together. It is not option A or B.
“The end goal is, how do we develop Hong Kong football better, and what is the best strategy?
“We very much respect the head coach’s input, because he has very good experience, but we also respect the clubs’ views, because they are contributing to Hong Kong football long term.
“The HKFA is the platform, we welcome more inputs … and have to work together to find a common goal, and develop that together.”
