Tseung Kwan O Training Centre a far cry from ‘poor’ facilities past as Hong Kong soccer team prepare to reap the rewards
The Football Association hopes to take over the facility in April, which boasts a grass pitch of the same quality as HK Stadium
The long-awaited Tseung Kwan O Training Centre will be open in April boasting a grass pitch of the same quality as the Hong Kong Stadium in a bid to help improve the standard of Hong Kong’s soccer team.
Construction of the 24,000-square-metre facility is expected to be completed next month and then inspections by various government departments are required, with the Football Association hoping to take over the facility in April.
Of the six pitches, which include three natural grass and three artificial, pitch number one will be used exclusively for the Hong Kong representative team.
“The pitch has been inspected by Fifa and is built with the same construction profile as the Hong Kong Stadium pitch,” said association chief executive Mark Sutcliffe at a briefing on Tuesday.
“It is a sand-based pitch with Bermuda grass and the top quality facility will be used exclusively by the representative team with a maximum use of 10 to 12 hours a week as recommended by Fifa.”
Former Hong Kong team coach Kwok Ka-ming, now adviser of the association, said the new facility would definitely help the representative team.