You may watch some insiders of Hong Kong football comment on the state of the game in Hong Kong. They offer their own analyses and suggestions.(Cantonese interview, except the interview with Casemiro Mior)
Lee, 40, is a veteran player of Sun Hei. He played for several top Hong Kong clubs in his career, including Lai Sun, Eastern, SCAA and Sun Hei. He is a former HK national team player, and was named the Footballer of the Year for several seasons.
Highlights:
"Footballers must have enthusiasm in their career. They must have the correct attitude. As a professional player you must enjoy training. It is hard to keep up your strength and stamina as intervals between games can be 10 days or more."
"Smoking is a bad habit for a player. I used to smoke, and I quitted it. I found that I performed better. As for wines, occasionally a glass of beer doesn't matter, but don't be a regular drinker."
"I think there are a few reasons behind the decline of Hong Kong football. We lacked investors. We lacked TV coverage. We lacked commercial sponsorships. We lacked government support."
"We have a rift in youth training for nearly 10 years. We don't have enough fresh blood coming through."
"Hong Kong football may revive if the government offers more support, and there are more concerted efforts by the HKFA and the clubs."
Chan Chi-hong
The Interview (3:41)
About Chan:
Chan plays for SCAA. He came through the ranks of South China's youth and reserve teams. In early 1990s he was touted as one of the most promising talents in the local game. He also played a season for Happy Valley. He is a former HK national team player.
Highlights:
"We witnessed a lot in the last 10 years. SCAA used to contend for the championships. And then it faced relegation troubles. And this season we revived. We are lucky to have a good investor in Mr. Lo."
"I hope the trend of revival can continue. Hong Kong football fans still have faith in our football. The players need to play well to win them back."
"Domestic football declined because investors turned away, such as the withdrawal of commercial-sponsored teams. We lacked capital. This affected the quality of football."
"Playing reserve leagues with first-team players is very bad. In the past when I played in the reserve league, we used to get a taste of the stadium atmosphere which could help us to grow. But it is no longer the case."
"Since the HKSI scrapped the football section, the youth players no longer received intense and advanced training. This is something they could never get at their clubs."
Fan Chun-yip
The Interview (22:48)
About Fan:
Fan is currently the number 1 goalkeeper of the Hong Kong national team. He plays for Happy Valley in the local league. He was named the Footballer of the Year in 2004.
Highlights:
"Playing for the Hong Kong national team is a drive for me. The local fans still support our national team matches. The HK team indeed made an improvement in these years, if you look at the FIFA international ranking. I think it is a bit strange that there are more people watching the HK team play than watching the local league."
"The clubs lacked resources. Bosses do not know how many years they will invest in football, and they are not sure whether to invest in youth teams. They may simply sign players from the Mainland. But in football, nurturing talents is a long process. Even at Happy Valley we lacked youth training."
"We need support from the government. Good training grounds and stadiums are the basic requirements, but even we cannot even secure these things. Sometimes we have to share the grounds with other teams."
"The difference in playing standards between Hong Kong clubs and our counterparts in Asia, bar China, Japan and Korea, is indeed not much. But our training level is not enough. Most clubs do not have their own clubhouse, hostels or training grounds. We cannot arrange two sessions of training per day."
"Expatriate players in recent years are a level lower than those in the past. Sometimes local players play better than them. Indeed some players come to learn playing. In the past, the expatriate players could guide us during the game, but now sometimes we have to guide them. Good expatriate players are costly, but they are really worth the money."
"It is true that some players have part-time jobs. This is because their salaries are low. And they have to earn a living. Given the conditions in Hong Kong, we are difficult to have real 'professional' football. We cannot attract new talents to join this career. If we wish to have real professional football, players must be better-paid. However, some club owners think differently. And we need more spectators."
"In the past people did not have many forms of entertainment. Now we have competition from foreign leagues. We have to do something."
"I think right now we have a slight revival, but we have to look on. All clubs must work hard to improve themselves and attract fans. SCAA does a good job to win fans this year. Other clubs can do the same."
"We need to build stars. But we need investment. If stars are like ordinary people, it won't help much. I am still optimistic that we have new football stars coming through. But we need promotion."
"Allowing people to bet on local football at HK Jockey Club is good. A share of the money can be invested into the local game, such as youth training. This money can help the running of clubs a lot already. More people will pay attention to the local game. And players will get a better income if there are more investment and spectators. Of course we cannot guarantee there is no match-fixing, but we have law enforcement bodies such as ICAC guarding against it. The government needs to think something new."
Cheng Siu-wai
The Interview (3:23)
About Cheng:
Cheng, 25, has been a SCAA player for 5 years. Before joining SCAA, he played for Double Flowers and Rangers as a youth player.
Highlights:
"Before this season, I didn't see any prospect in Hong Kong football. And this season Mr. Lo takes the lead to invest, other investors may return and build strong teams. I think there is hope."
"It is true that salaries are low. But young players must work hard and be willing to endure the hardships. You may earn very few now, but if you play well you will get the reward in future. Just like myself, I have played at SCAA for 5 years, and experienced many highs and lows. But I believe things will turn better."
"There is a rift in youth player development. Many youth players earn as few as $2000. Some even get only 'transportation subsidies'. You cannot convince parents let their children enter this career if players are paid so badly. I myself could have left this career if I didn't achieve anything in football."
Kwok Ka-ming
The Interview (30:05)
About Kwok:
Kwok was a former player of Rangers, and later he coached several clubs and also the HK national team, in which masterminded Hong Kong's famous 2-1 victory over China in Beijing in World Cup 1986 qualifying on 19 May 1985. He was the Manager of the Year in 2001. He now works as an AFC coaching instructor, and also a FIFA technical study group member.
Highlights:
"Now Hong Kong football is second-rate in Asia. Professional football had developed in Hong Kong for nearly 40 years. In the past we had very good expatriate players which could help the Hong Kong game to develop. At that time Hong Kong was the only place with professional football, and was the football centre in East Asia. Some clubs even recruited former internationals. Club investors did not have to invest a gigantic sum of money. Watching a football game in the stadium was a popular leisure activity. So Hong Kong football prospered at that time."
"In 1990s our neighbours such as Japan, Korea and China all invested a lot to develop their own professional leagues. For example, in Japan the big enterprises invested a lot to support various teams in the J-League. They recruited very good expatriate players. The West Asian countries also invested heavily in football as a means to promote their countries. But Hong Kong lagged behind. Now Hong Kong teams play in the second-tier AFC Cup instead of the AFC Champions League."
"There are many reasons for the decline of Hong Kong football. We don't have any support from the government. The government has to look after other sports associations, not football alone. Also, HKSI scrapped the football section because our football teams cannot achieve results in the international competitions. Our youth players lacked a base for advanced professional training. Moreover, in late-1990s the clubs lacked investors and the quality of football dropped. This further drove away potential investors."
"The Singaporean government fully supports their football development. It allocates designated training grounds for their clubs, but in Hong Kong our government won't do that. Singapore even allocates a share of the profit from football betting to the development of local football."
"Football in Hong Kong cannot provide a return for the investors. The sponsors cannot achieve advertising effect in local football. We have foreign football every week on TV, and sponsors have plenty of channels to place their advertisements. They don't need to advertise through local football."
"In the past players could earn three times more than ordinary workers earned. Now it is obviously not the case. We cannot attract young men to join this career. Now we may still have youth football programmes as leisure activities, but parents will not agree their children to choose football as a career. Also, many young men cannot endure the routine harsh training."
"Club owners cannot afford to invest extra money on youth teams, so they use first team players to play in the reserves league. HKFA is forced to form the HK08 team because the clubs don't invest in youth teams. Of course it cannot match the old system in HKSI, but it is better than nothing. Also, HKFA hopes that district teams will help to nurture some new talents for future."
"I think if we can subsidize the development of local football with the profit of football betting, it is okay to open up local football for betting. Yet there are a lot of problems. For example we can't have all matches in the same round to be started at the same time. I can't see the government will give the green light."
"TV and radio broadcast will help the promotion of the game. Watching football at the stadium and watching it on TV is different. Showing it on TV will attract people to enter the stadium. And it brings more business opportunities, sponsorships and investment. This will help the quality of our football."
"I think there is some revival this season. If clubs play well, the fans will return to the stadiums. And there will be more new investment coming in."
"The solution to revive Hong Kong football is to lobby for more government support. If you don't have support from the government, such as better stadiums and training facilities, it is hard to develop football."
Casemiro Mior
The Interview (10:00)
About Mior:
Brazilian coach Mior coached SCAA for the second time this season, after his first stint in late-1990s. He guided SCAA to win the accolade of AFC Team of the Month in 2001. He was a former player of Gremio (Brazil), and later he coached Paranese (Brazil), Internacional (Brazil, as asst. coach), and Nacional (Portugal).
Highlights:
"In my first stay in Hong Kong, there were stronger players in the Hong Kong league. I rememer there were strong teams such as SCAA, Happy Valley, Sun Hei and Rangers. Now the quality of the league is weaker."
"We need to give more chances for young players. We need to start at the schools. If players are not full-time professionals and have other part-time jobs, they cannot play well. It is very hard. I think it is good to have a team like HK08. The young players can play regularly and they may join the stronger clubs like SCAA, Happy Valley and Sun Hei in future."
"All teams in Hong Kong need to improve, so that the fans will return to watch Hong Kong football. This season the teams played better. If SCAA has a strong team, it is good for SCAA and also good for Hong Kong football."
"If expatriate players themselves do not have the quality, they cannot improve their teams. It is no good for Hong Kong football. I remember when I introduced players like Cordeiro, Araujo and Onelius for SCAA many seasons ago, the Chinese players played better too. Clubs must find quality expatriate players. Local players and youth players can improve if expatriate players are good."
"In Brazil over 90% of the people love football. But in Hong Kong people have many other ways to spend their spare time, such as watching TV or going for a tour."
"Players in Japan or Korea work very hard. They train both in the morning and afternoon, and train very hard. Also they have good training grounds and facilities. But in Hong Kong many clubs don't have that. Sometimes we have to go to China for training sessions."
"If we want to improve our football, we need to have better training ground for training sessions. Our clubs and our national teams need to have good training grounds in order to train better."
Koo Kam-fai
The Interview (8:17)
About Koo:
Koo is now one of the assistant coaches of SCAA. He started his footballing career with Tsuen Wan in 1980, and later played for Eastern (1983) and SCAA (1983 - late-1990s). He was Footballer of the Year in 1987. A stalwart in defence of the HK national team, he was famous for scoring one of the goals in HK's 2-1 victory over China in Beijing on 19 May 1985.
Highlights:
"SCAA is an important part of Hong Kong professional football. It is famous for its fighting spirit. It has the biggest number of fans. If SCAA plays well, the attendance for Hong Kong football will also be good. Otherwise, the attendance will be bad."
"There are a few problems in Hong Kong football. The quality of our football is not good enough to please our fans. And we lacked a new generation of players to come through."
"Young players lacked quality. And at present we don't have the reserve league matches as the curtain-raisers of league games. The young players lacked the chance to experience the atmosphere."
"The youth players nowadays cannot withstand the routine training. They train about 1 hour a day and say it is harsh. When I was a young player twenty years ago, we trained at least 3 hours a day. We had bigger determination than the youngsters now."
"Many clubs in Hong Kong are not enthusiastic in youth training. We have fewer youngsters coming through since the scrapping of the football section of HKSI. HKFA should do more to save this. We cannot rely entirely on expatriate players. If club investors withdraw, our football will suffer again."
"I think Hong Kong's football standard now is at the second tier, on par with Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and India. Of course it is inferior than Japan, Korea or China. AFC thinks with the standard of Hong Kong teams they can only play opponents of the second-tier."
"Afterall the key of revival is more investors. More investors will enable clubs to build stronger teams, and attract more spectators to watch the games."
Leslie Santos
The Interview (16:57)
About Santos:
Santos is now one of Sun Hei's assistant coaches. He started to play for SCAA as a youth player in mid-1980s, and was one of the stars of the local game. He joined Sun Hei in late-1990s and retired in 2002. He is a former HK national team player and Footballer of the Year for several seasons.
Highlights:
"In the past all clubs had reserve teams and youth teams. But now only a few teams have this setting. And since the scrapping of football section at HKSI, we have fewer youth players."
"No new stars are emerging in recent years. To attract fans you need football stars. But we can't find any stars after the ageing stars like Au Wai-lun, Lee Kin-wo and Cheung Sai-ho. And we have competition from foreign football every week on TV."
"We must develop youth football. We need more competition. And we need to import expatriate players with good quality. This can help to raise the standard of the game. A good example is the J-League. The standard of some expatriate players now are poor."
"The lack of good training grounds is a persistent problem, even when I was a young player. Teams have to move around like wanderers. And we have to share the grounds with other organizations such as school teams. We need to have good training grounds."
"I am not optimistic. I don't think HK football will improve in the next few years. SCAA does a good job to nurture younger players, yet not all other clubs do the same. Like Sun Hei, we need to use first-team players to play in the reserve league."
"Clubs often operate at a loss. It is already very good that many club owners still invest in Hong Kong football. Yet it is the task of HKFA to revive our football."
"We cannot have so many restrictions on football, such as tobacco sponsorship and football betting. In different cup competitions it is always featuring the same teams. Some weaker teams cannot attract spectators at all. Oldies games at the Southorn Playground or the MacPherson Playground may even attract more spectators."
"Players now are not serious in training. In the past we arrived at least 30 minutes early and did the warm-up exercises. But now the players just chat among themselves. Players should realize they are professionals and perform professionally."
"It is easy to sign an expatriate player. But to bring up the whole team's play is difficult. Sometimes the expatriate players could not cope well with the local players."
"Of course it is good to have a Pearl River Delta League. But up to now it remained on paper. This summer we may have a chance to face Liverpool FC. It is a good opportunity for our clubs."
"I think Hong Kong teams is now at the second tier of Asian football. To advance to the first tier, we need to improve our game."
Law Kai-wah
The Interview (7:10)
About Law:
Law takes up the post as the coach of Happy Valley this season after hanging up his boots. He played for Eastern and Happy Valley. He is also a former HK national team member.
Highlights:
"The whole environment is bad for professional football. We lacked resources. We lacked young players. The quality of football is unsatisfactory. Fans are not interested in local football. A whole vicious cycle existed."
"Each team should have a whole ladder of teams including youth teams and reserve teams. In our days we came through all the youth training programmes to play in the first team."
"It is normal that club owner are 'short-sighted' or pragmatic. In foreign leagues they have support from the government. We lacked that."
"Hong Kong clubs don't have enough training. For example, our club does not have our own clubhouse or training ground, and we have to rent the Happy Valley Training Ground. This ground is poor, players can get injured easily. The quality of training is not enough."
"Hong Kong football must re-set its position. Don't always look back at the glorious past. We have do it gradually."
Chan Hiu-ming
The Interview (part 1 - 8:59 ; part 2 - 8:11)
About Chan:
Chan previously coached several HK national youth teams. He is now the coach of Wofoo Taipo, a first division outfit with a very distinctive local flavour.
Highlights:
"In the previous years there were fewer talented young players. But as the economy recovered, I expect there will be more talents emerging."
"In football, among a big pool of young players only a few may succeed to become a professional player."
"Because we lacked resources in youth training, we let too many talents wither away. In Hong Kong young players often faced the dilemma on either choosing football or their studies."
"We should consider some rules such as mandated quotas for young players in the professional teams. And we need to think about what retirement benefit we should provide for our athletes."
"Of course it is good to have the HK08 team, especially after the scrapping of football section at the HKSI. But I hope Hong Kong clubs develop their own youth teams. But for the time being, we need teams like HK08 or HK09."
"Indeed the youth players of Hong Kong are not very much inferior to our counterparts except China, Japan or Korea. I may say the achievement they got is already beyond expectations."
"I think the most important point is government support. And I think we should introduce some kind of 'minimum wage' for the youth players to encourage them stay in this career."
"District football teams should know their status and direction. The first team needs not to be locals, but the important thing is that the teams invest in youth training, and nurture enough new blood for future."
"If a team want to survive in the first division, it needs investors, good training and good players. And then the team will win new fans."
"Local support from the district gives us a better starting point. But at the end of the day we need good results to win the support of our fans."
"Boss football is insustainable. If the bosses withdraw, the team will suffer."
"The government should make more support for youth football development. It should encourage investors to invest in football such as offering tax concessions. It should improve the stadiums. And it should consider retirement schemes for the athletes."
"Our football may turn better, as our economy recovered. But since our football relies on investors, another economic downturn may dealt a blow to our football."
Lo Kit-shing Steven
Interview (part 1 - 23:42 ; part 2 - 14:43 ; part 3 - 1:18)
About Lo:
Lo is the Convenor of SCAA (the owner of the team), and the boss of an entertainment group. He became the Convenor of SCAA for the second time this season. He revitalized SCAA invested a lot to improve the team, and introduced new marketing methods to win the fans back. Hong Kong football also benefited from his astute efforts.
Highlights:
"Last season my company sponsored Citizens. When I saw the league games at the Mongkok Stadium, the scene was pathetic. At the end of last season SCAA failed in the fight against relegation. I think I should try something to help revitalising SCAA and also Hong Kong football."
"When I returned to run the SCAA team again last July, I told the SCAA chairman Mr. Hui that I need to have total command over the running of the team. I have to start with a small team of local players, and then search for good expatriate players. In this season we experienced highs and lows. I learned a lot from that."
"My wife encouraged me to communicate with the fans. I established communication with the fans via the official blog. This helped me to understand what the fans think about our team and how can I improve it. I enjoyed reading their feedback. Many of their insights are very useful for our team."
"We faced a lot of restrictions and constraints from various people. For example during the organization of the invitation friendly between SCAA and Yokohama F Marinos in February we faced some constraints from HKFA."
"The reason I organized a high-profile 'victory parade' for SCAA is that I wish to show Hong Kong people still cared for local football. And I want to let the government know, and adopt policies favorable to local football."
"In early 1990s, it was easier to run the SCAA team. At that time we had better players such as Leslie Santos, Ku Kam-fai and Shum Kwok-pui. There were good expatriate players. But at that time we didn't adopt advanced marketing strategies and promotion. In recent seasons, the quality of the football is much worse. If players in early 1990s were rated 100 marks, players now can only be rated 40-50 marks."
"Finding sponsors for Hong Kong clubs is very difficult. When the football of Hong Kong declines so badly, no sponsor will bother to sponsor the clubs. Most sponsors now are merely the friends of the club owners."
"To encourage sponsors, we need to raise the attention of Hong Kong people in local football. I think after this season, the situation will improve a bit in the search for sponsors. But this needs the concerted efforts of all clubs."
"Government support and improvement of the game is a matter of 'chicken and egg'. But I think the government should offer some support now after we re-aroused the people's attention on local football. For example the Mongkok Stadium is very poor. When the club staff of Yokohama F Marinos visited the Mongkok Stadium, the first impression they had about the stadium was that it was a school playground. In Japan even the high schools had playgrounds with better conditions than the Mongkok Stadium, and they have a complete system of youth development."
"If you don't make favorable policies and allocate resources, you won't have good football. After the scrapping of the football section in the HKSI, we lacked fresh blood in the game."
"The government should realize that local football has two important functions: to let people release their pressure in the stadiums by cheering and yelling, and to increase the sense of togetherness of Hong Kong people. Just look at how the Koreans in Hong Kong gather and cheer for their team during the last two World Cups. Our officials don't realize the social function of football."
"I offered good salaries and bonuses to my players. I hope they understand they have their own responsibilities and prove that they are qualified to earn their salaries. Young players should realize if they work hard and play well, their efforts will be rewarded. If other clubs do the same, it will start a healthy competition. I signed Chan Wai-ho from Rangers with a high transfer fee. I hope that will give a stimulus to other club owners and it can be the start of a good local transfer market."
"People won't have big interest in the football matches if they cannot recognize any stars. Image-building for my players can help the club in finding new sponsors, and also improve the income of the players themselves. Since Au Wai-lun, Man Peter and Detinho casted that advertisement, we had other companies enquiring about inviting our players for advertisements."
"If Hong Kong domestic football is already so poor, even a combined Hong Kong team won't survive in the Chinese League. Also our local clubs won't be willing to sacrifice their players to play for that combined HK team."
"Hong Kong players basically lacked the skills and the physical strength. To be honest, I don't have big expectations that the players in the SCAA U-20 team will play for the first team in future. SCAA neglected youth training for some seasons already. This season I plan to send about 10 young players to train in Japan, and I hope they can learn something."
"It is too early to say Hong Kong football has revived. It is just that we started to make some noise. I think there are two key points if we wish to revive HK football: more input in youth training and more lobbying of the government by HKFA and the clubs. "
Lee Yun-wah Eddie
The Interview (2:18)
About Lee:
Lee is the Assistant Club Manager of SCAA. He has been working at SCAA for many seasons.
Highlights:
"SCAA used expatriate players again this season. They have better skills and are physically stronger. Other clubs also invested more. This is the key to the revival of the local game. I think the key for local football to keep on the revival is that all clubs keep increasing their investment."
"The HKFA should loosen its restrictions on the clubs, such as the quota on expatriate/mainland players. Clubs can then attract better players in the local league. We need to have good expatriate players as well as youth players."
Ho Ching-kong
The Interview (6:23)
About Ho:
Characterized by his coarse voice and outspoken commentating style, Ho is one of the most famous radio football commentators/pundits. He is a veteran in radio football broadcast, and has over 30 years of experience. He now works for RTHK and occasionally for ATV for sports programmes.
Highlights:
"The biggest problem is that we lacked new talents. Many clubs now do not put attention on youth training. It is not sustainable."
"The HKFA does not do enough for the game. And we lacked government support. For example we don't have good training grounds and stadiums. We have no concerted efforts. Our youth training programmes are merely recreative activities, but not professional training. Our parents tend to discourage their children to play."
"The revival this season may last only if other clubs also increase their investment. Right now we have deficiencies in our club management. Clubs are short-sighted."
"Going back to play in the CSL is not the solution. Hong Kong players cannot survive the harsh routine training schemes of the CSL clubs. And there are a lot of players in China, they don't need Hong Kong players."
"We shall attract more investors. Right now we have very few commercial sponsorships. The HKFA does not run the game well, and cannot attract sponsors. Look at other leagues, they all have strong sponsorship and the quality of their game is good."
Wong Hing-kwai Peter
The Interview (3:29)
About Wong:
Wong now works for ESPN as a football commentator/pundit. He is a famous personality in Hong Kong football, as he coached several Hong Kong first division teams in 1970-80s.
Highlights:
"Hong Kong fans are spoiled by too much foreign football on TV. We should also pay attention to local football. Football games are exciting to watch as long as they have passion, regardless they are foreign or local."
"I hope more keen investors will invest in our clubs, just like SCAA and Kitchee do this season. The HKFA also needs to improve. We also need more youth training. Youth players need to have professional training such as sports psychology, which must be instructed by experts, not by ordinary PE teachers. We cannot rely on two or three people alone to revive the local football."
"The government placed too much emphasis on winning medals when deciding who to get subsidized. It is impossible to expect football to win a gold medal for Hong Kong. But it is an important team sport."
"Hong Kong fans should stop relentlessly criticizing the domestic football. Of course our players cannot play like Ronaldinho or Ronaldo. But we should support our own football. We need passion."
Chung Chi-kwong
The Interview (1:03:00)
About Chung:
Chung worked for TVB as football and sports programme commentator/pundit for nearly 20 years. He is also a member of the management team of Sun Hei, in which he is in-charge of club administration.
Highlights:
"In the last decade many changes occurred. Ten years ago the duels between the stronger teams such as SCAA, Happy Valley, Eastern and Instant Dict often had full-house attendance. But now some important finals can only attract 2000-3000 people. We didn't see the red flag again until the recent game on April 15."
"In the past we had stars like Cheng Siu-chung, Dale Tempest and Wu Qunli, and people were eager to watch the top duels. Games involving weaker teams could still attract about 15,000-20,000. Now the quality of our game is lower. We cannot tell which players can attract people to watch them."
"On April 15 people entered the stadium because some inactive SCAA fans returned to see how SCAA played at that game. Although SCAA does have some die-hard fans, it is far from enough. For Hong Kong clubs we do not have enough die-hard fans who watch games regularly at the stadium. Clubs often host matches at a loss. They cannot attract investors. This is unhealthy for the development of our football."
"This season Mr. Steven Lo invested heavily in SCAA, so everything was changed. But other clubs lacked investors. It is very difficult for them to survive. The budgets of some clubs are indeed very small, about 1 million. They cannot pay their players well, and players have to do other part-time jobs to earn a living. So the quality of football declined. Fans are no longer interested in this low quality football. So there is a vicious cycle."
"In China, Japan and Korea, they link the clubs up with specific cities, such as Shanghai Shenhua, Dalian Shide, Urawa Red Diamonds, Yokohama F Marinos or Suwon Bluewings. This helped to build a sense of belonging with the local community, and the clubs can get a good fan base."
"Being a footballer in these countries may have a good prospect. If you work hard and play well you may one day be hired to play in the top European leagues. You can improve your living. This gives them an incentive. But in Hong Kong, being a footballer earns even less than other people and does not have a high social status, so few youngsters will be willing to become footballers."
"Since the scrapping of football section at HKSI, our young players lacked organized training. Some clubs such as Kitchee and Rangers still commit to youth training, but they lacked resources, especially good training grounds."
"In Hong Kong football, Mr. Butley of Rangers in 1970s was the only club owner who could earn a profit through professional football. The others all suffered deficits. Indeed the commercial teams like Seiko, Bulova and Instant Dict treated the investment as an advertising channel for their products. For other enthusiastic club owners like the Lam Brothers of Eastern, the Chow Brothers of Sun Hei and Mr. Koon Wing-yi of Happy Valley, this investment is indeed more like a hobby for them. If they could find a way of turning local football into a profitable business, the whole thing will be very different."
"In mid-1990s Eastern nearly initiated a path of commercialization for local football. But then we had a recession. We faced huge trouble in securing the sufficient number of teams to play in the league. We could not devote extra effort to look after promotion and marketing."
"The 'Sun Hei walkover' incident reflected the stupidity of HKFA. Instead of making a reasonable decision to postpone the fixture, HKFA asked Rangers to decide whether the game should go on. Why should Rangers bother to do so? ... In the Hong Kong football circle, indeed there are a lot of internal squabblings."
"Some teams indeed hoped to have more local matches to be broadcast live on TV. But HKFA have strange restrictions. It discourages showing the games live on TV. In a single season a team is only allowed to have one game to be shown on TV live. HKFA is very backward on this. According to our research live games on TV didn't affect the attendance much. It can help to promote local football and attract new investors and sponsorships."
"HKFA could indeed lobby the LCSD to provide some convenience for the fan clubs, such as allocating a storeroom in the stadium for storing the drums or banners. The key point is that whether HKFA adapts an attitude of helping the local football development."
"Stadium construction and improvement are not the top priority for the government. The clubs lacked training grounds because the government imposed a quota for the training grounds that each club may only apply for a maximum of 12 time-slots each month."
"If we talk about footall at the amateur or recreation levels in Hong Kong, the development is okay. The problem is with the professional football. The key problem is that the government does not have high regard for sports. And all plans are made on an adhoc basis. In foreign countries they all have respective national sports."
"The plan to play in the Chinese Super League is not feasible. This will relegate the status of our local professional league."
"I think there are two solutions to revive Hong Kong football. First, we need new investment into local football, such as attracting big enterprises to invest, such as encouraging clubs to sign good expatriate players. This will initiate a new cycle of development, and fans may return. Second, we should consider opening up local football for legal football betting at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Though it may be controversial, I think a share of the revenue can offer benefit to local football. Our neighbours are doing the same."
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