Barcelona deny signing contract with Hong Kong man arrested over Kai Tak Stadium claims
Club deny Winman CEO’s claim, made before his arrest over allegedly fabricated email – but La Liga teases ‘strong 2025 plans for Hong Kong’
Spanish football club Barcelona have denied signing a contract to play a match in Hong Kong with an advertising company boss who was later arrested following claims made about Kai Tak Stadium.
But a source from La Liga, Spain’s domestic competition, said its officials hoped to see their teams playing at the city’s landmark sporting venue this year, and were working on “very strong plans for Hong Kong in 2025 that fans in the region will surely enjoy”.
Edwin Wong Ho-ting, the CEO of Winman Advertising and Entertainment Group, was arrested last week in connection with an allegedly fabricated email regarding Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP), and an allegedly false report of a HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) blackmail attempt, levelled against a journalist.
Wong told the Post this month that Barcelona had agreed to play in Hong Kong, but that KTSP had rejected his request to stage the match at its new 50,000-seat stadium on July 27. He released an email, purportedly sent from Kai Tak, to back up his claim.
It came as Hong Kong prepares to open its HK$30 billion sports park, with plans afoot to invite high-profile football clubs to play matches there this summer during their pre-season tours.
Besides Barcelona, several leading English Premier League teams have been mentioned as potential visitors.
