Friday 25 October 2013

How a Footballing Nation Changed from Championship No-hopers to Global Superstars 為何比利時國家隊由一支歐洲國家盃陪跑分子搖身變成世界強隊?

Case Study – Belgium

How a Footballing Nation Changed from Championship No-hopers to Global Superstars

 
Belgium co-hosted the 2000 European Championships but suffered humiliation by being eliminated at the group stages. This turned out to be the catalyst for remarkable change. The Belgian Technical Director Michel Sablon knew things needed to be radically transformed. The starting point was to look at other successful countries to see what they were doing right.
Slowly but surely better players have been produced. The blueprint for change included:
  • Agreeing a National Curriculum and playing style and adopting it at all levels of football including the professional clubs (despite massive resistance from some)
  • Convincing youth coaches to move away from a ‘Win at all costs’ mentality to a developmental philosophy
  • Introducing a small-sided games approach at the grassroots
  • Being elitist at youth level with effective talent identification systems and playing the best against the best
Eventually even the skeptics realized that the change was positive (although this took over 6 years in some cases). The evidence speaks for itself; Kompany, Fellaini, Vertonghen, Hazard, Vermaelen, Mignolet, Dembele, Benteke etc are all household names. It was the revised development system that made them what they are.
                                             Source: Royal Belgian Football Association
 
Belgium has a population of around 11 million (not that different from Hong Kong in terms of the size of talent pool). They are ranked 5 in the latest FIFA standings and have a real chance of winning next year’s World Cup. It’s an amazing story. Against all the odds, Sablon changed the football culture and philosophy of a nation.
That is what we need to do in Hong Kong and what our new Strategy sets out to achieve. We are facing the same resistance here that they initially suffered in Belgium. We recently tried to introduce a minor change to the substitutions allowed in our youth leagues and there was nearly a mutiny. The Belgium case study shows what can be achieved but also how long it takes. It seems that you have to win hearts and minds before you can win football matches.
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個案分享 – 比利時
為何比利時國家隊由一支歐洲國家盃陪跑分子搖身變成世界
強隊?
作為與荷蘭合辦2000年歐洲國家盃的比利時,在決賽週小組賽中以第三名成績黯然出局,正因經歷這次失敗,催化了比利時決意進行翻天覆地的改革。比利時足球技術總監米高沙比倫深明當時比利時足球需要作出重大改變,事件反映出另一國家取得空前成功的實例。
耐心培育優秀的足球運動員是其首要任務,制訂改革的大綱包括以下數點:

  • 同意統一採用國家課程指引及球隊比賽風格,將其應用至不同足球層面上,包括當地球會(當然有部分球會拒絕採用)
  •  說明青年教練從思想上的「不惜一切代價去爭取勝利」轉向至以發展為大方向的道理上;
  • 在草根足球項目引入小型足球比賽模式;
  • 從青年球隊中透過有效之辨識球員系統尋找精英球員,讓他們得以在最強對最強的環境中成長。
最後,甚至質疑者亦認為當初的改革得到正面效果(縱使經歷了六年歲月),事實證明:高柏尼、費蘭尼、維頓漢、夏薩特、米勞列、迪比利、賓迪基等等一個個變得家傳戶曉的球星名字,反映了改革後的足球發展機制孕育了眾多出類拔萃的球員。
                                                圖片來源:比利時足球總會
比利時人口約一千一百萬人(其實與香港有天賦的球員人數沒有太大分別),目前他們位居國際足協全球國家隊排名榜中第五位,並點燃該國贏取明年世界盃的希望!沙比倫力排眾議,徹底改變了該國的足球文化及哲學觀!
比利時所奉行的改變正是香港需要去做的事情,以及制訂未來的新策略方向。與比利時早期的遭遇一樣,我們同樣面臨不少非議。最近足總試圖在青年聯賽中的換人制度作出輕微改變,但幾乎遭受否決。比利時的案例恰恰反映改革必須經過一段漫長的歷程,正如要在足球比賽中獲勝,必須先要贏取普遍認同!

 
 
 

 


 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Tuesday 22 October 2013

It’s time to develop a High Performance Football Culture in Hong Kong 發展本港高效足球文化的合適時機

It’s time to develop a High Performance Football Culture in Hong Kong


Introduction
 
Since our defeat to UAE last week, I have been reflecting on why we were beaten and what we need to do to give our players a better chance to compete. I keep coming back to the same conclusions that I did when I wrote the Project Phoenix report. There are some fundamental long term developmental issues that were identified in the report and that we are now addressing including:
 
  • We don’t have a ‘national’ playing style or system that is taught systematically from the grassroots level all the way through to elite players.

  • Youth development is not coordinated across Hong Kong

  • Football in schools is limited

  • There is no real ‘scouting’ or talent identification system

  • Youth leagues are homogenous and based on the lowest common denominator – in other words there is no opportunity for the ‘best to play with the best’ 

  • The quality of coaching is variable and coaches do their own thing rather than following a National Curriculum

  • Professional Clubs (with one or two exceptions) place very low emphasis on player academies

  • Players do not get enough opportunity to play football as a result of insufficient facilities and a focus on academic attainment
As expected, it is taking time to address these fundamental issues but all of them are being worked on now that we have a functional Technical Department and bigger Secretariat. A Hong Kong system of play is being developed which is set out in a new National Curriculum which will be launched in the near future. Change management is never easy because there are always pockets of resistance to overcome, general inertia and the realignment of processes and budgets. These new and revised football development activities and programmes will eventually produce better footballers for our representative teams but we can’t afford to wait for the changes we are making to the infrastructure and player pathways to come to fruition. We need to give our current and emerging elite athletes more help and support now.
 
It is commonly accepted that to become world class in an activity, a person should have had the opportunity for 10,000 hours of ‘deep’, quality, purposeful practice by the time they are 18 years of age. Aspiring footballers in Hong Kong currently reach 10,000 hours by the time they are 40, by which time their aspirations have of course expired or become sad delusions! The fact is that by the time our players are ready to pull on the Hong Kong senior jersey they are probably about 5,000 hours behind players in other countries through no fault of their own and yet we expect them to be competitive.
 
Even when young players reach the top and are selected to play for Hong Kong, the system fails them and we have to rely on their fighting spirit and Coach KIM’s passion. We do not have the resources to develop a ‘High Performance’ culture.
 
The most important deficiencies are money, facilities and support services.
 
Funding

Looking at the issue of money first, football is not part of the Hong Kong Elite Sports programme funded by the Government and operated through the Hong Kong Sports Institute. The reason for this is that the criteria for gaining elite sports status are based on the attainment of medals in international competition. The problem for football is that without the investment that is given to elite sports, it is unlikely to ever gain that level of performance, it is a chicken and egg scenario. It should also be recognized that football is played in just about every country in the world whereas some of the current elite sports are not universal and it is therefore easier for them to achieve success. For Hong Kong to win medals in football regional competitions we will have to beat world powerhouses such as Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, UAE, China and Korea Republic. To compound matters further, it is more difficult to achieve medals in team sports than individual sports. For example in a major games e.g. Olympics there are 34 different swimming events with 102 medals available whereas in football there are two events (men’s and women’s) and therefore 6 medals in total. Taking these factors into account, the chance of football gaining elite sport status is very small, if not impossible.
 

In reality, it would be difficult for senior football players to be based full time at the HKSI because as a ‘professional’ sport, senior players train with their Clubs. It would however be possible for them to have access to some of the facilities and support and/or for some of our young players (men and women) to train there from time to time. At least there should be some parity in terms of the funding and support given to our elite ‘athletes’. The HKFA would also welcome a partnership with the HKSI involving the sharing of expertise, resources etc, especially when (if) the Football Training Centre is finally built. To put the funding of elite ‘athletes’ in some sort of context, there are 719 ‘athletes’ (if you include the 12 sports under the Individual Athlete Support Scheme) funded by the HKSI at an annual cost of HK$325m. This equates to HK$452,017 per athlete per annum. Each Olympic athlete competing for Hong Kong in London 2012 apparently cost HK$8.9m over 4 years (i.e. HK$2.225m per athlete per annum), because as you would expect the cost of preparing full time Olympic athletes is higher than the average. By contrast, in 2013, the HKFA Government subvention for the Hong Kong Football Association Representative Teams was HK$4.617m. There are circa 288 elite athletes (12 squads x 24 people) in the Hong Kong football ‘high performance’ system. That equates to HK$16,031 per person per annum which is 3.5% of the money spent on each HKSI athlete and 0.7% of the total spent on each Olympic athlete respectively. Even at the lower end of spend per athlete, if the HKFA elite teams’ members were to receive a comparable amount, the HKFA would have a high performance budget of HK$130m instead of under HK$5m. The comparative funding of elite athletes in Hong Kong is shown below.



The fact that football is not seen as an elite sport is hugely detrimental because it is starved of the resources it needs to improve and to compete. Yet football is the most popular and high profile participant sport in both Hong Kong and the world and our elite players are expected to compete equally with footballers from other countries in high profile matches televised across the globe.

Facilities

It was stated above that there are insufficient accessible and good quality football facilities in Hong Kong and that this hinders grassroots and youth development activities and programmes. This means that our young players will always struggle to get 10,000 hours contact time with the ball by the time they are 18. At the elite level the situation is even worse, there are no dedicated elite football facilities. When I first came to Hong Kong in 2009 to work on the Government’s strategy ‘Dare to Dream’ I was shown plans drawn up in 2003 for a National Football Training Centre at Tseung Kwan O. Of course developing this facility was a key recommendation of that strategy and then again a key recommendation of Project Phoenix. It’s almost 2014 now and we are still at the ‘planning’ stage. Meanwhile our senior team has to train for international competitions on over-used public pitches across Hong Kong. It might be a synthetic pitch one week and a grass pitch the next. Some weeks we don’t train at all because there are no facilities available. It is difficult to imagine this ‘nomadic’ and ad hoc approach being acceptable in any other country that is serious about football. No disrespect to Guam, but even they have a training centre! I’ve been there, it’s great and I’m very envious – more to the point, so are our players and coaches. If we had a dedicated training centre and/or the resources to organize proper training camps before important matches, we would have the right to expect positive results. We don’t and we shouldn’t.  
 
Support for Elite Footballers

In terms of sports science support footballers are again massively disadvantaged compared to elite athletes based at the HKSI and elite footballers in other countries. I have been to the multi-billion dollar HKSI and it is fantastic with new state of the art sports science support services as well as accommodation, classrooms, rehabilitation facilities and access to high level professional expertise. Literally no expense is spared to develop the HKSI elite athletes, which is how it should be. I have no problem with the resources invested in the HKSI and its elite athletes, indeed I am an advocate of the approach to high performance taken at the HKSI and a firm believer in leaving no stone unturned in fostering excellence in sport. That is what we so desperately need in football but the problem is that the HKFA has no money to provide even the most basic support. We have no sports science support (physiology, psychology, bio-mechanics, nutrition etc), no gym, no conditioning coach, no analysis software etc etc because we can’t afford them. It does seem a bit paradoxical that some sports have optimal resources and others including football have virtually none.  

Solutions

The HKFA is just about to launch a new 5-year Strategic Plan called Aiming High – Together which builds on Project Phoenix and sets out what needs to change if football in Hong Kong is going to prosper once again. It addresses all of the areas of concern from the grassroots up and includes a chapter on ‘high performance’ football. The strategic plan proposes solutions to all of the issues raised in the introduction to this blog.
 
In terms of facilities, this is actually a difficult issue to address because there are simply too few facilities in Hong Kong to cater for the demand. I sympathize with the Government – it has an impossible job trying to cater for everyone. So rather than trying to do so, maybe it is time to prioritize access and change the current quota system and allocation policy. The further ‘roll-out’ of the conversion of grass pitches to synthetic pitches will help. The real ‘game-changer’ would be the development of the Football Training Centre at Tseung Kwan O. That has to be the number one priority for everyone involved in football and surely can’t be too difficult to bring to fruition. 
 
Of course that will require the allocation of resources but to me that is the easy part for a place like Hong Kong – it just requires the commitment of funding partners and the buy-in to the vision set out in the Strategic Plan. We are just looking for some parity with the other elite sports in Hong Kong. Hong Kong football teams already compete in international competitions (albeit with their hands tied behind their back metaphorically speaking) e.g. National Games of China, East Asian Games, Asian Games, Asian Cup, Olympics and World Cup. We have to prepare properly for these high profile events where being elite is a prerequisite. It is patently absurd that football in Hong Kong is categorized as ‘non-elite’? The pride of the nation is at stake.
 
I hear some people saying ‘where will the money come from and why should football get it’? Well in terms of where, here are some ideas:
 
  • Use some of the interest made on the Elite Athletes Development Fund set up by the Government and used to fund existing ‘elite’ sports

  • Establish a new fund linked to the existing football betting licence*

  • Consider allowing betting on Hong Kong football and establishing a new endowment fund specifically for football development including high performance

  • Reduce the stadia ‘levy’ from its current 20% of gross ticket sales to (say) 10%.


*An annual surplus of circa HK$20billion is generated from football betting in Hong Kong. The HKFA receives an amount equivalent to 0.17% of this in the form of Government grants and charitable sponsorship (which is similar in scale to a one year old child stood next to the ICC building). If this was increased to half of one percent (circa HK$100m) it would still be a drop in the ocean but it would literally transform the sport. The slice of the ‘football betting pie’ given to the HKFA is illustrated below – you will have to look closely though.
 Why should football be given more money? I can’t think of any other sport in Hong Kong that generates a surplus of HK$20billion a year. It might come from betting and from betting on foreign football but it is still money derived from people in Hong Kong and it wouldn’t exist without football. Furthermore football generates significant economic multipliers from major events such as the Barclays Asia Trophy. It is the most popular participation and spectator sport in Hong Kong and as such it contributes to health and well-being, community cohesion, and pride of place. It is easy to construct a case for investment in football - there are social, economic and cultural benefits on a scale much bigger than other sports and pastimes. 

Of course there is an onus on the HKFA to generate more commercial revenue and we are trying to do that. It is difficult however to get the corporates to invest when football is starting from such a low base. Some public sector or charitable funding is needed to pump prime football in Hong Kong. Project Phoenix money helps and we are grateful for it but in terms of major change, we are still scratching the surface. We are really trying hard to improve things and I believe we are making progress. We have established the criteria for the Premier League starting in 2014/15, we are working with two of our Clubs on an Extraordinary Application to gain entry into the 2014 AFC Champions League, we are introducing new age groups into our youth development programmes, we have enhanced the governance, management and operation of the HKFA, we have recruited a team of skilled and enthusiastic football professionals and we have prepared an ambitious strategy to develop grassroots football, youth development, high performance football, futsal, women’s football, refereeing, coaching and coach education etc.

However our plans will not have the impact that they should and could have unless we get more money into the sport. We have reached a tipping point. Together with our partners and football stakeholders, it really is time to take stock of the situation, to decide how important football is to individuals, to communities and to Hong Kong society as a whole and to give it the help it so desperately needs. If we do not get better facilities and a level of resources comparable to other sports we will not be able to develop a ‘high performance’ culture (or fulfill our other plans) and we will simply fall further and further behind other countries. I do not think that is what the football-mad Hong Kong people want – please correct me if I’m wrong.

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發展本港高效足球文化的合適時機



 引言


 
自從上週我們不敵於阿聯酋後,本人曾反覆思考香港代表隊落敗的原因及我們如何幫助球員爭取更佳的競爭機會,所得出的結論與早前本人所撰寫的《鳳凰計劃》同出一轍,該份報告曾提及一些基本的長遠發展項目,現在不妨藉此重溫以下數點:
 
  • 本地各地區的青少年足球發展項目未能妥善相連;

  • 足球於學校層面的發展有限;

  • 沒有一套真正的「球探」或發掘具足球天賦球員的識別機制;

  • 本地青年聯賽皆以一個最低的門檻招生及有一個共同特點—「均質化」,換句話說,「最強與最強練習」的機會渺茫; 

  • 球員訓練質素因人而異,某些教練喜歡以自己的方式執教,未必遵循原有的課程指引;

  • 專業球會(一至兩間除外) 將青訓的考量放至較低位置;

  • 沒有足夠的設施及學業為先的想法令球員沒有獲得足夠的踢足球機會。
 
以上所言,各個項目必須經過一段時間才能開花結果。在足總技術部及秘書處的全面配合下,所有項目正在火速展開。香港將會在不久將來推出一套屬於香港足球的課程指引,並會建立一套自己的比賽風格。改變管理模式從來並不容易,皆因在改變過程中會遇上不少阻力,例如慣性模式或抗拒重新編制之程序及預算。新編制的足球發展項目將會有利於孕育更多優秀足球員代表香港隊,然而我們不能忍受漫長的等待,必須為基建及球員開闢捷徑以盡快享受成果,現在我們必須為現時的精英運動員給予更多的幫助與支援。
 
眾所周知,要在某個項目上成為世界級人物,他必須在十八歲的年紀時能夠達成一萬個小時的深層次、高質素和針對性練習的目標,本港一些有抱負的足球員會在他們年近四十時達成一萬個小時的目標,可惜為時已晚,其足球生涯正接近尾聲,一腔熱情亦已消耗殆盡。事實上,相對其他國家而言,本地球員在穿上港隊球衣時或已達成五千小時的練習量,我們不能嚴加苛求,但實際上我們希望他們做得更好,更具競爭力!
 
當青年球員能夠被提拔入選香港代表隊,單靠他們的拼勁精神和金判坤教練的滿腔熱情,最終或會淪為泡影!我們沒有足夠資源來發展「高效」文化。
 
上述不足之處的重點是:缺乏金錢、設施以及支援服務
 
 
贊助
 
 
首先來關注金錢的問題,由香港特區政府贊助、香港體育學院營運的「香港精英運動項目」,現時足球運動並未成功歸納其中。究其原因,最大考量是建基於該運動項目能夠在國際賽事中成功獲得獎牌數目的多寡而定,但問題出現了,足球運動在缺乏足夠的投資下,始終難以搖身變成精英運動項目,自然難以在高水平的比賽中獲得滿意成績,這是雞與蛋的道理。足球魅力風靡全球,而某些精英運動則未必每個地方皆會重視,因此他們比較容易取得成功。在香港而言,足球運動要在國際賽事中取得獎牌,我們必須先擊敗如澳洲、伊朗、日本、約旦、阿聯酋、中國及韓國等列強。進一步延伸,團體運動項目始終較個人比賽更難奪標,以奧運會游泳比賽項目為例,它將會在三十四個單項上產生一百零二百獎牌,至於足球則涉及兩個項目(男子和女子),即僅有六面獎牌誕生。
 
若將這些因素一併考慮在內,足球能成為精英運動項目的機率可謂微乎其微。
 
 
 
現實生活中,我們很難要求本地職業足球員全天候「紮根」在香港體育學院中,因為作為一項「專業」運動,球員皆會在所屬球會操練,然而他們亦可以接觸該學院的部分設施及支援,以及/或我們的年青球員(男女子)偶爾在那裡接受訓練,這裡至少能夠獲得部份的財政援助給予我們的精英「運動員」。香港足球總會歡迎與香港體育學院緊密合作,特別當足球訓練中心成功落成後,互相分享不同的專業知識、資源等等。在投放在精英運動員的資助上,由香港體育學院資助的運動員數目達七百一十九人(包含在個別運動支援計劃的十二項運動中),涉及每年金額達港幣三億二千五百萬元,以每年計平均每一位運動員獲得港幣四十五萬二千零十七元。為出戰二零一二年倫敦奧運會,在四年間耗資了港幣八百九十萬元在每一位香港代表隊成員身上 (每年度每位運動員約為港幣二百二十二萬五千元),皆因全職備戰奧運的會較參加一般比賽的運動員開支為大。相反,在二零一三年度中,香港足球總會代表隊獲得由香港特區政府資助的金額為港幣四百六十一萬七千元,當中涉及香港足球「高效」系統下的二百八十八名精英運動員(十二支球隊陣容 x 二十四人),平均每年每人獲港幣一萬六千零三十一元資助,分別為每名體院運動員所資助金額的百分之三點五和每名奧運香港代表隊成員所資助金額的百分之零點七。假若香港足球總會的精英隊員能夠獲得較為接近的金額,我們理應獲得港幣一億三千萬元而非低於港幣五百萬元下作為高效預算方季。目前香港各類型精英運動員的資助金額,如下圖所示:
 
 
 
事實反映本地足球並未視之為精英運動項目將會產生不良影響,因為我們渴求資源以進一步改善球隊的競爭力,在香港以至世界任何一個角落中,足球都是一項廣受歡迎及高參與率的運動,香港精英球員都想與其他國家的選手們,在全球觸目的國際舞台上在同一水平上公平競技。
 
設施
 
 
 
根據上述資料顯示,本港缺乏一些交通方便及高質素的足球設施,從而阻礙青少年足球培訓項目的發展,同時本地青少年球員亦很難在其十八歲時已達成一萬個小時的訓練目標。在精英運動員的層面上,設施問題更趨嚴重,因本港沒有一個指定的精英足球基地。二零零九年,本人首次參與香港特區政府的《敢於夢想》策略報告時,已獲悉二零零三年在將軍澳興建足球訓練中心的計劃,當然發展此項設施是該份策略鼓告以及「鳳凰計劃」的其中一項重點建議。二零一四年快將來臨,目前我們仍停留在「計劃」階段,然而香港代表隊為備戰各項國際賽事而需過度徵用本港各個公共場地,本周或在彷真草地舉行,下周又或安排在真草場地訓練,又或數周內因沒找到合適場地而取消一切操練,難以想像這種「遊牧」及即興方式會在其他國家中容許執行。本人重申對關島沒有不敬之意,但他們亦有屬於自己的訓練中心!我曾踏足當地,其設施完善令人嫉妒,包括本人、我們的隊員及教練在內。如果我們擁有自己的訓練中心及/或相關資源,便可以在一些重要賽事來臨前安排適合的訓練營,從而讓球隊有權利獲得理想戰績,但目前卻事與願違!
 
 
 
 精英足球員的支援
 
 
 
相對香港體育學院的精英運動員以及其他國家的精英足球員,本地球員獲得運動科學的支援可謂乏善足陳!本人曾造訪耗資數以億元興建的香港體育學院,內裡提供多元化的運動科學支援服務以及運動員宿舍、課室、復康設施以及各項預尖的專門知識。字點行間沒有表明任何開支預留在發展香港體育學院的精英運動員上,本人絕不反對將資源投放在香港體育學院以及其精英運動員上,反而提倡我們應仿傚香港體育學院的做法以發展「高效」方針,堅定不移地培育優秀的體育人才,恰恰是足球運動所需要的。然而,最大難題是香港足球總會缺乏資金來提供更多基本支援,如沒有運動科學支援(體能、心理、生命力學、營養學等等)、沒有健身器材、沒有適體能教練、沒有分析數據等等,全因足總無力承擔所需費用。某些運動擁有足夠的優化資源而其他項目(包括足球)則嚴重貧乏,實在有點自相矛盾!
 
 
 
解決方案
 
 
 
建基於「鳳凰計劃」,香港足球總會即將發布一個全新的五年策略報告書,中文名暫譯為《力爭上游—萬眾一心》,主要針對如何為香港足球事業作出改變以圖再次邁向輝煌。報告書中將顧及各個範疇領域的關注,包括由草根足球開始以至包括獨立篇章提及的「高效」足球。今次由博客作為引子,而計劃書將會全盤剖析所有項目的解決方案的建議。
 
 
 
在「設施」層面上,是一個難以解決的議題,因為香港確實在設施配套上有嚴重供不應求的情況,這點本人十分同情香港特區政府,因為實在難以滿足每一個人的訴求。與其一意孤行,或者可以考慮將現有資源排序,以及改變目前的配額及分配制度,繼而將真草場地逐步改變為仿真草場地亦有一定幫助。真正的「賽局改變者」必屬發展中的將軍澳足球訓練中心,在每一位足球從業員的心中都會將其放在首選位置,擁有它就有機會取得豐碩成果!
 
 
 
誠然,資源分配談何容易,惟對本人而言,在香港有效地執行亦並非難事—只需各贊助夥伴在計劃報告中提及的未來願景作出共同承諾,同時亦會尋求與其他本港精英運動項目的同等待遇,香港足球代表隊已經在各項國際賽事中先後登場(儘管他們束手束腳以作比喻),例如中國全運會、東亞運動會、亞洲盃、奧運及世界盃賽事等,我們已為各項高水準賽事準備就緒,而當中不乏精英球員。有些公開的謬論認為香港足球已被標籤化為「非精英」?香港的驕傲已瀕臨危險邊緣。
 
 
 
本人曾聽聞一些人質疑「金錢從何處來?」以及「為何花費在足球上?」以下是一些意見:
  • 由政府設立精英運動員發展基金,繼續投放在現有的「精英」運動上。

  • 建立一個新基金, 並與現時本地足球賭博牌照*掛鉤。

  • 考慮容許本地足球賭博事業及成立一個全新的捐贈基金,特別是支持足球發展包括「高  效」  足球。

  • 降低球場的徵稅稅率,由現時的門票收益的百分之二十降為百分之十。
 
*本地足球賭博業的年度盈餘為港幣二百億元,香港足球總會收到政府撥出當中金額相等於0.17%的收益以及其他慈善機構的贊助(情況猶如一歲小孩站立在環球貿易廣場相似)。 若能夠增加至百分之一的一半(約港幣一億元),雖如海洋中的小水滴,但足以將運動事業作翻天覆地的改變。 有關足總能夠獲分一片「足球賭博事業的大餅」,請看以下插圖。
 
 
 
為甚麼足球事業需要獲得更多金錢資助?我難以找到有其他本地運動事業足以產生每年有港幣二百億元的盈餘,雖然來自投注收益甚至來自投注在外國足球比賽,但投注金額都是來自香港市民身上。再者,足球能夠營造顯著的經濟效益,例如巴克萊亞洲錦標賽已是成功案例,這是一項廣受觀眾及球迷歡迎的本地運動活動,同時帶來一個健全、社會凝聚力及城市品牌效應,將會為足球事業容易營造一個投資機會,無論在社會、經驗及文化效益上,足球事業都較其他文娛及康樂活動為大。
 
 
 
當然,香港足球總會肩負起增加更多商業收益的責任,惟以目前本地足球事業的狀況,難以獲得企業的支持。因此,一些來自公共部門或慈善團體的資助是需要繼續維持本地足球事業。香港足球總會感謝「鳳凰計劃」的資助,惟一些主要改變仍然停滯不前。我們試圖在各方面尋求改變,例如已經制訂2014/15年度的香港職業聯賽的相關要求、協助本港兩間甲組球會爭取參加2014亞冠的參賽資格、引進新年齡組別加入青少年發展計劃、加強本會管治架構、行政及營運工作、招攬 具技術及熱情的足球專家來發展草根足球、青少年發展、高效足球、五人足球、女子足球、教練及教練導師等。
 
 
 
然而,除非投入更多金錢在運動上,一切計劃未必收到顯著成效。我們正面臨成敗關鍵的岔口,因此必須與合作夥伴和足球業界人士攜手合作,決定足球如何對公眾、對社區以至對整個香港社會的重要性!與其他運動比較,假如我們無法獲得更佳設施及相關資源,便無法發展一種「高效」文化(或實踐其他計劃),導致我們將會不斷落後於其他國家,我不認同這是香港足球癡的所期望的事情—如本人所言有誤,請予以糾正。
 
 
 
註:由於文中涉及大量專有名詞,敬請以英文版本為準!
















Thursday 17 October 2013

Thank you to our fans 感謝香港球迷的支持

Thank you to our fans


Just short of 8,000 people were at the Hong Kong Stadium last night to cheer on the Hong Kong Senior team. We have been criticized by some people for moving the game from Mong Kok stadium but if we hadn’t have done so there would have been a lot of disappointed people. The atmosphere was good at the HKS and it felt right to be holding this important international match in the National Stadium. We have to be ambitious and I feel that we are outgrowing Mong Kok except for less important friendly matches. The Hong Kong fans demonstrated their passion and I was proud to be associated with the local game. I want to say a big thank you to the fans for supporting the team, it means a lot to us. I hope that you will keep coming and that over time the numbers will swell even further.

Personally, I don’t think the 0:4 score line would have been any different if the match had been played anywhere else. They were clearly the superior side but you would expect that from a team ranked 66 places higher than us in the FIFA rankings, we have to be realistic in our expectations. Two late goals makes it look very one-sided but that’s not how I saw the game. It was competitive for most of the match and whilst our players generally were not as skillful as theirs, I cannot fault our team for work rate and commitment.

What this match reinforces is how much more work we need to do to develop players and how much more support we need to give them in their preparation for matches like this one. We are still lagging behind other countries in so many respects. We have no dedicated training facilities. We don’t have proper sports science support. We have no conditioning coach. We have no match/player analysis tools. I could go on but the point is that we do not have a fully developed ‘high performance’ system and culture; we are letting our players down. We know what we need to do, we have plans and ambitions in all of these areas of weakness. The only thing we lack is the resources to put these things in place. Until this situation changes we will have more nights like last night where our team does their very best but where their opponents are simply better prepared.

Everyone really wants success; the players, the coaches, the administrators and most of all the fans. There is no doubt that we are improving but equally we know there is a long way to go. We need further change and we need it now. We need a training centre quickly (goodness knows it has been talked about for long enough) and we need a properly resourced ‘high performance’ system including expert sports science support – similar to the resources and systems in place at the HKSI. Against the top foreign teams we cannot just rely on our coaches’ and players’ ‘fighting spirit’ and the support of our fans. These things are great but they will only carry us so far.
 
 

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感謝香港球迷的支持



昨晚近八千名市民親往香港大球場為香港代表隊吶喊助威,坊間有部分聲音質疑足總為何不將今場賽事安排在旺角大球場舉行,但若事實如此,相信會有很多球迷將被拒諸門外而敗興而回。香港大球場籠罩著一股熾熱的現場氣氛,引證了將這場重要的國際賽事移師至此實屬明智抉擇。除了一些比較次要的友誼賽外,我們應該展現雄心壯志,大膽求變,勇敢捨棄旺角大球場的桎梏。本港球迷盡情地展現熱情和激情,作為當中的一份子,本人萬分自豪。我在此由衷感謝廣大球迷對港隊的鼎力支持,為我們傾盡所有。我希望大家都能持之以恆入場支持,隨著時間沉澱,相信球迷數量將會持續攀升!

在本人的觀點上,無論這場賽事安排在任何一個場地舉行,我並不認為0:4的比賽結果將會發生任何改變。事實證明客軍的整體賽力較我們更強,在國際足協的排名上更高出六十六位之多,我們應該面對現實。兩個遲來的失球令這場賽事瞬間變得一面倒,但我絕不否定港隊球員所付出的努力,縱使技不如人,但雙方在大部分比賽時間內仍互有攻守,球隊落敗實非戰之罪!

這場比賽留下了一個啟示,究竟我們在培育本土球員的工作上應該如何進一步加強,以及如何提供更多支援來幫助他們備戰這類型大型賽事,我們在不同領域上仍落後於其他國家,例如我們沒有一個特定的訓練基地、我們沒有適合的運動科學支援、我們沒有體適能教練、我們沒有比賽/球員分析工具輔助等。我想指出的重點是我們欠缺一套完善的「高效能」系統,從而無法保持球員的最佳狀態。我們知道需要從何對症下藥,本身已有一套周全計劃和抱負去改善各項不足之處,唯一欠缺就是「東風」—將資源安放在合適的位置上。在現狀改變之前,我們或會有更多的比賽晚上,如昨夜般球隊雖奮力迎戰,奈何獲勝利女神眷顧的一方是備戰十足的對手。

每一位在場人士都想獲得勝利,包括球員、教練、職員以及廣大的球迷們,毫無疑問我們正在逐步改善,惟平心而論這條改革之路仍然漫長;我們需要求變,而且應付諸實行,期待訓練中心能盡快落成(眾所周知這是討論已久的項目)以及一套合適的「高效能」系統包含專業的運動科學支援—類似香港體育學院的現有設施。在迎戰實力強橫的外隊時,我們不能單純倚重教練及球員們的「拼搏精神」以及廣大球迷的全力支持,否則我們只能寸步難行。

 

 

Thursday 3 October 2013

Thailand – Here We Come! 泰國 — 我們來了!


Thailand – Here We Come!


It’s now official, our U16 team has qualified for the finals of the AFC U16 2014 tournament due to be held in Thailand next September. To put the magnitude of this in context I am told that this is the first time ever that one of our junior teams has progressed to the latter stages of a regional tournament. That is quite an achievement and one that should be celebrated. More importantly it is success that should be built upon.

We finished in second place behind Australia in our group and qualified on goal difference as one of five best second place teams. This just shows you how small the margins are between success and failure at this level. Our goal difference was +1 if it had been -1, we wouldn’t have qualified. So just two goals difference over 360 minutes of football. Australia only beat us 2-0 and they missed many, many gilt-edged chances. Our progression to the finals is partly thanks to Australia being profligate in front of goal.

However, I think the main reason we qualified is that we hosted the Group stage here in Hong Kong. Home advantage was apparent in all of our matches but particularly the opener when we beat Singapore, probably our main rivals for second place. So in terms of football development, our decision to host the group stage has been vindicated but from a financial perspective this has cost us a lot of money, cash that we can ill-afford but money that I believe has been well-spent. We had also planned to host the U19 Group stage but we couldn’t afford to do both. As I write this our U19 team is preparing to take part in the qualifiers in a neutral venue (Malaysia). I wish them well but it is a difficult group and they won’t have the benefit of home advantage. If we are serious about the future of youth football in Hong Kong, we need a policy of bidding to stage tournaments – there is no substitute for competitions when it comes to developing players. They are not individual, isolated events, they are critical ‘staging posts’ along the development continuum.       

As far as next year’s U16 finals are concerned, the hard work starts now. We must give this current crop of young players every support in preparing for the competition. They will be playing against the best young players in Asia, most of whom will be on full-time programmes at National Training Centres. We don’t have that luxury, well actually it’s not a luxury these days, it’s an essential requirement. Having watched all of the group matches I believe we have a team of talented and very keen players with lots of potential. In terms of technique, understanding of the game and strength and conditioning, there is room for improvement – as you would expect. We will have to do what we can with the resources we have to help them prepare for this prestigious competition. It is their big chance and we should not let them down.

Finally I would like to thank a few people. To the HKFA Directors for backing the bid to host the event and to Ken Ng and Kitchee in particular for helping us to generate revenue to pay for some of the expenses. To the Hong Kong Football Club for providing the venue. To the AFC for giving us the honour to be hosts and for their support in the organisation. To the small but vociferous supporters who came to watch. To the HKFA Competitions Team for their unstinting commitment and professional attitude throughout. To our coaching team and helpers for their dedication and expertise. Finally and perhaps most importantly to the players (and their parent) for their time, energy and love of the game.

Actually as a footnote, it would be remiss of me not to thank Australia, not for missing their chances but for being the only participating country to respond to my emergency appeal to provide a financial contribution to the tournament running costs. They didn’t have to but they did and I am grateful for their generosity. 



 

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泰國 — 我們來了!


終於獲得官方公布,我們的香港十六歲以下青年代表隊成功晉身明年九月在泰國舉行的「2014亞洲足協16歲以下錦標賽」決賽週,這是一個重大的喜訊,是我們首次有其中一支青年軍能夠躋身國際比賽舞台。港隊取得如此佳績,固然值得可喜可賀,但最重要的是成功必須不斷累積下來!

我們以小組次名成績屈居在同組冠軍澳洲之後,並以較佳得失球的優勢而成為其中一支五隊最佳次名成績的球隊,可見成敗僅在於一線之間, 我們以正球1的優勢而晉級,但若以負球1的結果完成賽事,則會將決賽週的入場券拱手相讓!在全部360分鐘的賽事中,我們僅有兩球差距。在澳洲一役中,我們最終以兩球僅負對手,全因他們屢失戎機;我們得以晉身決賽週,或要感謝澳洲揮霍不少破門良機!

然而,個人認為我們成功的最大因素在於今次作為主辦方進行這次小組賽事,港隊擁有主場之利的優勢十分明顯,尤其在於迎戰同為爭奪小組次名資格的新加坡時取得首捷。在比賽發展的層面上,當初足總申辦這場小組賽的決定獲得平反;惟從經濟角度來看,我們所費不貲,縱使盡量省吃儉用,但我認為所需支出已值回票價!足總亦曾經計劃主辦「2014亞洲足協19歲以下錦標賽」的小組賽事,但我們再三思量後決定放棄。在執筆期間,香港十九歲以下青年代表隊正身處中立比賽場地(馬來西亞)備戰今次賽事,我祝願他們全力以赴,惟同組強敵如林,加上沒有主場優勢幫助,要成功突圍必須加倍努力!如果我們落實發展本地青訓足球項目,或需要制訂一套完善的政策來競投小組賽事的主辦權,因為沒有任何一個捷徑比透過不斷參加比賽更快去幫助球員成長。賽事不是單一的活動,反而是一個連錦不斷的「驛站」,球隊能夠在征途上累積實戰經驗!

關於明年舉行的「2014亞洲足協16歲以下錦標賽」決賽週,備戰工作經已展開!我們必須為這班青年精英球員提供全方位支援,他們將與亞洲區頂尖球員同場競技,而大部分國家的球員正享受其國家訓練中心提供的全職訓練課程;相對於我們欠缺這項夢寐以求的設施,事實上它並非遙不可及,應視之為一項基本建設。閱畢所有小組的賽事後,我認為港隊擁有具天賦及潛力無限的球員。在技術層面上,閱讀球賽及加強體能訓練仍有可改進的空間,在目前現有的資源上,足總將會全面配合他們去備戰這項擁有崇高榮譽的國際盛事,球隊機會難逢,我們應該對他們予以鼓勵!

最後,我在此感謝以下人士;香港足球總會董事局支持競投這項賽事的小組主辦權,特別感謝伍健先生和傑志體育會有限公司籌集經費、香港足球會提供比賽場地、亞洲足協全面支持我們承辦今次小組賽事、在場吶喊助威的球迷、足總競賽部同事們為今次賽事付出辛勤的汗水、我們教練團隊的專業指導,以及最重要感謝香港十六歲以下青年代表隊的全體成員(及他們的家長),為今次比賽付出不少、體力及熱情!

作為本文註腳,請寬恕我在此不得不感謝澳洲代表隊,並非他們屢失戎機,而是作為今次小組賽事中唯一參賽國家能夠接受我的緊急呼籲,為今次比賽的營運資金提供經濟援助,事實上他們可以拒施援手,惟他們卻雪中送炭,我十分感激他們的慷慨之舉!