Football chief urges government to reopen facilities for training and competitions as pandemic restrictions ease
- Global football is gradually returning to normal, but not in Hong Kong
- Hong Kong’s governing body aims to restart remainder if season in mid-September
Hong Kong Football Association wants the government to take a bold step by reopening facilities, as has been the case in other countries, so it can complete the remainder of this season as planned in September.
“We have seen that many other countries are almost back to normal in terms of football, but not yet Hong Kong,” said association chairman Pui Kwan-kay. “The situation is a bit discouraging as we can watch many football leagues on television, but what happens to us?
“We understand players’ and officials’ safety is always of paramount importance. But if we can follow strict hygiene requirements, I don’t see any reason why we cannot restart our own games just like other countries,” Pui added. “The pandemic is improving in Hong Kong and seems to be much better than many other countries that have already continued running their football competitions.
“The government should take the first step so that our business can gradually get back to normal, just like other businesses in society. If we are not allowed to restart the remainder of this season, what will happen to next season? We cannot postpone it indefinitely. We may have to live with the virus for an extended period of time until it is fully under control but the government has to strike a balance of partially resuming our everyday life and not just stopping everything.”
The association planned to restart training sessions this weekend for the six Premier League teams that will continue with the season, which has been suspended since March due to the pandemic. They have submitted a detailed safety plan to the Home Affairs Bureau early this week and are awaiting a response.