Hong Kong football clubs in desperate plea for coronavirus disaster relief – ‘we have no venues, no fans, no income’
- Clubs put pressure on government to reopen venues, even if they have to play matches behind closed doors
- ‘If they don’t do anything, it means they just let us die,’ say league champions Wofoo Tai Po
Hong Kong Premier League clubs want subsidies from the government’s disaster relief measures as all venues remain closed with no reopening date yet because of the coronavirus crisis. .
At a special meeting with the Football Association on Tuesday night, the clubs urged the government to reopen the venues in March, even if they have to play matches behind closed doors.
Sports Commissioner Yeung Tak-keung attended the meeting but only reiterated the government’s policy of fighting the epidemic was paramount.
Various cultural and leisure facilities under the government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) are temporarily closed and recreational, sports and cultural programmes have also been cancelled until March 2.
Secretary Chan Ping, of league champions Wofoo Tai Po, said clubs have been struggling since the government closed all venues in January, virtually killing all professional clubs.
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“We have never come across such a disastrous situation, no fans, no venue, no income,” said Chan. “The government is going to provide subsides to businesses that are being affected by the epidemic and professional football clubs are among them. We are going to submit our request to the government for their consideration.
“In fact, no one knows when the season is going to finish due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, possibly beyond May and this would definitely add an extra financial burden to the clubs. The government should be able to help us through the newly announced relief measures.”
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Even if clubs play the Sapling Cup behind closed doors at the association’s Tseung Kwan O Football Training Centre, they still have to bear various expenses of over HK$20,000 for each match. There are 18 cup matches scheduled for the period until the end of February.
“The government should offer help in bearing the cost of playing at the training centre as we have no income at all,” said Chan. “If they don’t do anything, it means they just let us die.”
Last week, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the government would ask the Legislative Council for HK$28 billion to introduce a basket of relief measures for businesses and individuals. .
HKFA chairman Pui Kwan-kay said they had been urging the government to reopen the facilities for Premier League matches in March.
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“We understand clubs are frustrated by the situation and some even asked to call off the season prematurely if no improvement can be seen in the near future,” said Pui. “We have also contacted Chief Executive Lam for assistance but the government insists the fight against the epidemic is its top priority and therefore no one knows when the facilities will be reopened.
“We now have to draft contingency plans if no venues can be opened until mid-March or even April. We hope the clubs can work with us to cope with this difficult situation,” he said.
