Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Another year has literally flown by! It’s
incredible to think that this is my sixth Christmas since taking up my position
in 2012. It makes me laugh now to recall the countless people who told me when
I first started that….”you won’t last six months!”
In my Christmas message two years ago I
reflected on how 2015 had been a disastrous year for FIFA and I looked forward
to a time when it would have a new President and a reform programme. Last week
the HKFA hosted a FIFA Summit which was Chaired by the FIFA President Mr Gianni
Infantino. There were 15 Member Associations present and we were all consulted
by FIFA on some of its future programmes and had an opportunity to question
FIFA representatives on a range of topics. This refreshing and inclusive
approach simply wouldn’t have happened under the old regime. The fact that this
event went virtually unnoticed is also indicative that the ‘new’ FIFA is more
interested in doing business than it is in boosting egos through
self-promotion. The HKFA is already receiving more than five times as much
funding from FIFA than two years ago. There has been a swift and remarkable
change at FIFA and I congratulate them for it and wish them a Merry Christmas!
As ever 2017 has been an eventful year. As
you can see from the picture the long-awaited and much-needed Hong Kong Jockey
Club HKFA Football Training Centre is nearing completion. It’s going to be
delivered a bit later than we expected due to some adverse weather and technical
challenges but it will be worth waiting for, I can assure you of that. This is
one of the final recommendations of the original Project Phoenix to fall into
place and I can’t help feeling somewhat emotional when I walk around the site and
see what has been finally achieved. With a lot of hard work visions can become
reality.
Another highlight was the Premier League
Asia Trophy which took place in July. The weather tried to spoil it like it had
in 2013 but not this time. The new pitch at the HK Stadium performed
beautifully and two full-house crowds were thrilled by some of the world’s best
players. I will never forget the sea of red and the passionate rendition of
You’ll Never Walk Alone. Another very emotional moment to savour for me as a
Liverpool fan.
I can’t cover all of the activities and
programmes that we provide here in this short blog but suffice to say that I am
immensely proud of all of my colleagues and the tremendous job they do. The
HKFA staff share a passion for football and work extremely hard. I would like
to thank them for all their efforts and successes. And thanks too to our Board,
Committee Members and other stakeholders and partners. Collectively we strive
to make Hong Kong football better. It’s not an easy task but as they say, ‘the
path of true love never runs straight!’
2018 will see the operational phase of the
Football Training Centre, Hong Kong teams participating in the AFC Champions
League (good luck to them), the culmination of the Asian Cup qualifiers and the
World Cup, to name just a few. It’s going to be another busy and exciting year.
Once again, thanks to everyone for their
support. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
