Opinion | Hong Kong football fans betrayed as fear of offending motherland shuts them out of home derby against China
Excuse that Hong Kong Stadium pitch won't be ready in time for must-see World Cup qualifier is simply unbelievable
I’d bet that from 10am on Wednesday morning the Cityline ticket website will be down. If you’ve had the misfortune to try to use it, you might say I’m not exactly sticking my neck out – it’s probably down right now.
READ MORE: Why is new HK Stadium pitch okay for rugby but not World Cup qualifier v China 9 days later? HKFA demands answer
The government has spent HK$100 million and nine months installing a new pitch at Hong Kong Stadium, it having been a joke since the stadium was opened in 1994. Despite this investment of taxpayers’ money, the ‘experts’ at the Leisure and Cultural Services Department who have managed the pitch so well for the last 20 years have judged that it will not be fit for the game on November 17, because it will have hosted the Asia Rugby Sevens Olympics qualifying tournament on the 7th and 8th.
