Hong Kong football saved as government continues funding, but lambasted FA will be closely watched
- New five-year plan finally gets green light, but eyebrows raised over goal of reaching the 2034 World Cup finals
- Football chiefs now required to submit progress reports on quarterly basis after being blasted for poor governance and administration malpractice
The Hong Kong Football Association breathed a sigh of relief after the government approved its new five-year plan, but the body will be closely scrutinised after an Audit Commission report blasted its poor governance and administration malpractice.
At a Sports Commission meeting on Thursday headed by the Secretary for Home Affairs Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, the plan received the green light after a delay of three months because of the coronavirus pandemic. The plan outlines the sport’s development, including reaching the 2034 World Cup finals as its ultimate target.
However, the amount of subvention will be divided into two parts. A HK$19 million allocation will be set aside for staff and related costs, while expenses for football programmes will be decided on a case basis. Under the previous plan for 2015 to 2020, the association received a maximum HK$25 million a year for staff costs and other expenses through the government’s Arts and Sport Development Fund.
“Some adjustments have been made on the plan following suggestions of the commission members which should help the association improve in certain areas,” said Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, vice-chairman of the commission who is also president of the Football Association.
“Of course, we are happy to see the government continue to support football, especially with more emphasis on mass participation.”
Should the government still fund the HKFA after Legco criticism?
The association can still receive more than HK$25 million a year under the new plan, provided it can justify the programme expenses which will be closely monitored by the Home Affairs Bureau. The association will be required to submit a progress report on a quarterly basis.
Last week, the plan was endorsed by the Football Task Force under the bureau before it was put forward to the commission for approval.
At the meeting, commission members questioned if the association’s target of reaching the 2034 World Cup finals is realistic and whether the money spent will be well justified following the governance and administration problems identified by the Audit Commission’s report released in April.
HKFA slammed by Legislative Council for its ‘poor governance’
“The Football Association must learn lessons from the report,” said a former member of the task force. “It’s good to know the government will closely monitor how the association spends the money. After all, it’s all public money and both the government and the association have to be accountable.”
The bureau will have to face Legislative Council members at a Home Affairs Panel meeting on July 13 to explain why the government decided to continue supporting the association and its new five-year plan.
At three Public Accounts Committee meetings to follow up on the Audit Commission’s report, Legco members criticised the association for a series of governance and administration problems. It also questioned if the government had done enough to monitor the association and whether public money had been well spent.
Under the new plan, several posts at the association will face a salary reduction, including the chief executive who is on a HK$3 million annual package.
The association will have to recruit a replacement following the departure of Paul Woodland after his contract expired last month.
Three overseas experts have been appointed to the top job since the beginning of “Project Phoenix”, the first five-year plan launched in 2011, and a local candidate may be considered this time, a source said.
