Tai Po official hits out at government’s apathy towards its own 2002 initiative to promote district football
- The club’s stunning league triumph is the result of a government-backed project to raise the profile of district football
- Each club receives annual subvention of HK$1.5 million to support a budget of more than HK$10 million
A Wofoo Tai Po official has accused the government of having total disregard for one of its own initiatives after his team became the first district club to win the Hong Kong Premier League title.
Secretary Chan Ping, one of the club’s founders when the government-initiated district soccer project was launched in 2002, was disappointed the authorities had yet to offer a word of congratulations for their success, nor any promise of increased funding despite spiralling budgets.
“District clubs were the brainchild of the government and when we upset the odds to capture the championship, we were expecting some gesture from the authorities, but so far we haven’t received a word of encouragement,” said Chan.
“We are still running the team with a government subvention of HK$1.5 million each season through the Art and Sports Development Fund, the same amount the two other district clubs, Yuen Long and Southern, receive.
“This amount, to be honest, is hardly enough to even survive in the Premier League. In fact, we have been given this for a number of seasons and were told recently there would not be any increase.
“Hopefully, because we have won the championship, this may prompt them to reconsider the subvention.”
Chan said the club spent HK$18 million this season on their way to becoming Hong Kong champions, eclipsing big spenders R&F from across the border and last year’s winners Kitchee.
“Before we received HK$1 million from the fund, which was increased to the current figure after a special approval from former Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing in 2014, but since then there has been no change,” he said.
“We have to rely heavily on commercial sponsorship and personal contributions to run the team but neither can be relied upon [for the long term].”
The official said they understood the government were unable to pay the players directly but they should at least consider subsidising more of the administration costs such as staff, office expenses and even venue charges to lessen the burden.
“No one would oppose the government spending more on soccer development, including LegCo members who approve the budget,” he said. “The current subvention only accounts for a very small portion of our expenditure and its time to reconsider.”
Sports Commissioner Yeung Tak-keung presented the Premier League trophy to Tai Po when they defeated Dreams FC 3-1 in their last match of the season in mid May, but Chan said he made no commitment on funding.
The champions are facing financial strains for next season after their major backer decided to reduce his contributions.
Tai Po were among a group of 11 teams that first took part in the government-backed Third Division (District) in 2002, which was expanded to encompass all 18 district teams the following year.
“When Tai Po lifted the district league title in our second season, we had to go for play-offs against teams from the parallel Third Division to get promotion to the Second Division,” said Chan.
“And from the Second Division we won promotion to the top flight in 2006, the first district club to achieve the status before clinching our first trophy in 2009 with the FA Cup.
“District teams help promote soccer in different regions, providing opportunities for young players that may find it difficult to join traditional teams. Some of these young players have later become Hong Kong internationals.”
Former Hong Kong Footballer of the Year, Lee Wai-lim, and his younger brother, Lee Hong-lim, both started their careers with Tai Po when they were still in the Third Division, along with prolific striker Chan Siu-ki. All three would end up playing for the Hong Kong national team.
“They would never have succeeded in professional soccer as some little-known players from New Territories had it not been for the opportunity offered by Tai Po,” said Chan.
