Fifa World Cup unites Hong Kong refugees as charity screens games in Chungking Mansions following stoppage-time donation
Christian Action’s Refugee Centre offers the chance to view screenings at their Kowloon base
Uruguay supporters are outnumbered by 10 to one. Every single incident has been met with raucous cheers, sofa-slapping and plenty of ribbing the night’s South Americans, though not even the goal beats the howls for France keeper Hugo Lloris swallowing a bug.
We’re on the 17th floor of Chungking Mansions at Christian Action’s Refugee Centre. The local NGO has opened the venue for the World Cup to screen games from Russia, after a generous last-minute donation allowed them to buy a Now TV subscription to cover the competition. It’s not the first time they have relied on a donation to save the day, Jeffrey Andrews, a caseworker for Christian Action and the first ethnic minority social worker in the city, says. One woman bankrolled the football team for three years after donating HK$50,000.
I’m told that the crowd tonight is made up of clients of the centre and their friends by the couple of staff who are also watching.
Andrews is also, I’m told by his colleague, a bit of a celebrity, following an interview with 100 last year. He joined Christian Action almost nine years ago and started their football team soon after.