Troubled Hong Kong Football Association says ‘no’ to government appointing members to board of directors
- Chairman Pui Kwan-kay says proposal contravenes the association’s rules and candidates must go through proper election procedures
- But he says the highly critical Audit Commission report has given the HKFA a lot to digest and they will follow the recommendations
The Hong Kong Football Association has ruled out government officials joining its board of directors despite a request by Legislative Council members at a public hearing on the organisation’s governance.
Association chairman Pui Kwan-kay made it clear all their directors were appointed after elections in accordance with the rules and regulations.
“We always welcome interested people to join us to work for the development of Hong Kong football,” said Pui. “But they must go through proper election procedures and this is clearly stated in our constitution.
“We were a bit surprised to hear someone proposed the government appoint members directly to our board which contravenes our rules. In fact, since the inception of Project Phoenix [the government-funded strategic plan launched in 2011 to restructure football], there have been independent directors from outside working with us and we appreciate their contributions.”
At Legco’s Public Accounts Committee hearing, deputy chairman Kenneth Leung said the government always sent representatives to statutory bodies for monitoring purposes and there are strong reasons for adopting the same with the HKFA as almost 40 per cent of its income comes directly from government funding.