Football fans are back – Hong Kong stadiums to reopen gates after 10 months for weekend Sapling Cup matches
- The Sapling Cup match between Resources Capital and Southern at Yuen Long Stadium will be first game to welcome back spectators
- The Hong Kong Football Association will review the situation from time to time according to Covid-19 pandemic developments
Hong Kong fans can return to stadiums to watch their teams play this weekend after an absence of almost 10 months, the Football Association said on Thursday.
After the Covid-19 pandemic kept supporters at home since January, the Sapling Cup match between Resources Capital and Kwoon Chung Southern at Yuen Long Stadium on Saturday at 3pm will be the first to allow supporters back. The 5.30pm match in the same competition between Happy Valley and Eastern Long Lions at Mong Kok will also be open to spectators.
In line with government instructions, each venue is limited to 75 per cent of its capacity for spectators, with no more than four people sitting together in the same row to ensure proper social distancing.
The Mong Kok Stadium has a capacity of 6,600 while Yuen Long can hold 5,000 people.
“This is a good news for us especially for a newly promoted side,” Resources Capital executive director Ho Shun-yin said. “But since this is a Sapling Cup match which will take place in Yuen Long, along with expected adverse weather, it may be a bit difficult to attract the fans. Nonetheless, this is a good start and professional football should be like that with fans coming in, and not always playing behind closed doors.”