Kitchee boss Ng wants independent body controlling Hong Kong Premier League, rejects clubs power grab idea
- Several prominent figures in the game are concerned over Football Association’s inability to promote sport locally
- Kitchee boss is a fan of the much-maligned Sapling Cup as it offers only bridge from under-18s to first-team football
Kitchee boss Ken Ng has thrown his weight behind the idea of an independent body to govern the Hong Kong Premier League, but does not want to see a power grab by clubs.
Several influential people within the game in the city have said the Football Association lacked the ability to promote the sport locally, and Lee Man’s president, Norman Lee Man-yan, wants clubs to take control of the league.
Frankie Yau, Eastern’s vice-chairman, said the level of football in Hong Kong was stagnant, and suggested a “conflicted” FA had overstretched itself in trying to satisfy multiple stakeholders.
Yau called for a “revolution” to ensure the professional game was not secondary to attempts to grow participation numbers in the sport.
Ng said it was “not appropriate” for him to assess the performance of the FA, whose chairman, Eric Fok Kai-shan, was elected unopposed last June, because “it is too complicated to make a passing comment”.
The Kitchee president said he would like to see a set-up similar to the J League in Japan, where the board features club owners and experts from fields such as marketing, finance and law.