Hong Kong plan to switch fixtures as part of Asian Cup bid ‘unfair’, Eastern boss says
Roberto Losada concerned over impact of potential fixture logjam, but Eastern stay in title contention with convincing win at Kowloon City
Eastern thumped Kowloon City 5-1 on Sunday to pass a stern test of their championship credentials, but boss Roberto Losada was more concerned about Hong Kong’s hastily arranged friendly against Macau next month.
The Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) has announced a home friendly with the world No 193 team on March 19, in preparation for a crunch AFC Asian Cup qualifier away at Singapore six days later.
In a statement confirming the match, the HKFA said it had “obtained agreement from the clubs to adjust the Premier League schedule during mid-March”, to preserve players for the Singapore match.
That would suggest the Super Sunday scheduled for March 16, when Eastern are set to go to Tai Po, while Kitchee host Lee Man, could be moved to later in the season.
Losada said he had not heard about the plans, and questioned when the matches could be squeezed into an already congested calendar.
“If they give me another midweek game and we have three matches in six days, it’s not fair to me, and it’s exhausting for the players” said Losada, who has three players in the preliminary squad.