Stormy 2013 Premier League Asia Trophy the most memorable experience of his reign, says outgoing HKFA chairman Brian Leung Hung-tak
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Businessman Brian Leung Hung-tak has come across many crises in the commercial world but the disaster that befell the 2013 edition of the Premier League Asia Trophy, when torrential rain almost forced the tournament to be called off, remains the most vivid one for the outgoing football chief.
“All the tickets were sold and if the two matches could not go ahead as scheduled, what could we do?” said association chairman Leung, who gave a brief account of his work over the past 12 years before calling it a day when he passes the baton to Pui Kwan-kay, his deputy, before the HKFA board on Friday.
“We could not ask the three EPL teams to stay in Hong Kong for a couple more days so that we could have rescheduled the matches. Their schedules were already filled up. In the worst case, we might have to pay back the fans their ticket costs, but what about the TV rights for the matches which had been sold also? It would definitely have turned the event into a huge disaster.
“Fortunately, we obtained the last-minute approval from the EPL after working against the clock on remedial work at Hong Kong Stadium. What an experience!”
