Opinion | Dead-goat polo for Hong Kong: how we get sport on board the One Belt, One Road bandwagon

CY Leung’s annual policy address predictably had little to offer the city’s sport-lovers

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Participants ride horses as they fight for a slaughtered goat during a Buzkashi event in Yuli county, Xinjiang in 2013. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:15am, 18 Jan 2016Updated: 12:42pm, 18 Jan 2016

Last week, we were looking forward with bated breath to CY Leung’s policy address, that annual highlight of the Hong Kong calendar. I asked what sports lovers in Hong Kong could expect from CY, predicting ‘not a lot’. Now that Wednesday’s excitement has finally worn off, a more calm and measured look at the address reveals that to have been accurate.

Okay, as predictions go, that was about as difficult as forecasting that the sun will come up tomorrow. There was a total of 115 words devoted to sport, from a total of 19,294, a little below the average percentage. Us sports nerds love a stat.

For those who lapsed into catatonia before the one hour 57 minutes mark of the two-hour-plus address, here are those 115 in full (hey, this space isn’t going to fill itself):

“I have decided to implement the proposal in my Manifesto and appoint the Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs responsible for sports policies as the Commissioner for Sports to co-ordinate cross-bureau or cross-departmental sports initiatives.

Lawmakers try to stay awake as Leung Chun-ying delivers his 2016 Policy Address. Photo: AFP

“Commenced in last [sic] August, the detailed preparatory works for the Multi-purpose Sports Complex at Kai Tak are expected to be completed next year.

“The Government will formulate a career programme for retired athletes, under which schools and national sports associations will be subsidised and encouraged to employ retired athletes. This will help the athletes build a solid foundation for their career plans and future development, and assist schools and national sports associations in promoting sport and nurture sporting talent.”