Politics
Written by: Lin Jian
2019-12-23 07:00
Last updated: 2019-12-23 07:00Speaking of local football in recent years, it is almost impossible not to mention Roger Cheng. Ten years ago, Luo Jiecheng led South China into the semi-finals of the Asian Football Association Cup as the host. 37,459 people filled the Hong Kong stadium, setting a record for the number of local non-performing performances. In December of that year, Luo Jiecheng as the team leader helped the Hong Kong team to win the historic gold medal in the East Asian Games, bringing a football boom. Since then, Luo Jiecheng has also become the symbol of Hong Kong football ZTE, known as "Luo Shen".
During the past ten years, the SAR government has successively launched the five-year plan of "Phoenix Plan" and "Striving for Upstream-One Heart", to develop local football and set up the Hong Kong Super League. A decade of football dreams, no matter the Hong Kong team or the Earth Club, the results are lacking, the Hong Kong team's world rankings are floating, and in the recent East Asian Football Championships, they lost all their hatred in three games.
Luo Jiecheng accepted an exclusive interview with the reporter of "Hong Kong 01" and pointed out that the development of local football has stagnated. What is most lacking is not resources, but fundamental government policy thinking and execution. He believes that in order to revitalize local football, at least two measures should be taken: the legalization of local wave betting, and the Hong Kong Super League will be managed by the Jockey Club: "(The Jockey Club) manages even livestock and animals, not to mention football?" In the long run, then It is necessary to train local football management talents and strengthen youth training: "I always have a goal and Hong Kong can reach the World Cup Final Week in 2034."
Luo Jiecheng lamented that the government's thinking over the years has not paid enough attention to the development of sports, and the people have made heavy money. However, he believes that the development of sports at all times, especially the current social chaos in Hong Kong, has an important role in uniting people's hearts.
The Hong Kong team lost all three games in the East Asian Football Championship. (Photo by Yuan Zhihao)
Further reading: [Policy Analysis] Is it a dream to introduce local wave betting to cultivate "Hong Kong Mays"?
Directors who have no intention of engaging in local waves should only be honored
"I thought that most of the interviews were with sports reporters." This is the first question of "Luo Shen" before the interview, because the reporter has identified his identity before the interview. The main areas are political and public policy. The reporter then explained: "In fact, the development of local football, the ideal public policy and political environment should be indispensable." This point seems to speak of Roger Cheng's pain.
With this visit, everything came a little by chance. Luo Jiecheng posted a post on Facebook on the 13th of this month, stating that he was invited to serve as the vice chairman of the two FA teams. However, after investigating documents, he found some serious errors within the FA. In the end, the board of directors refused him to attend the meeting. Luo Jiecheng described the incident as "ridiculous" and said that the stagnation of local football in the past decade has nothing to do with this phenomenon. Curious, the reporter invited Roger Cheng to be interviewed.
Regarding the details of the incident, Luo Jiecheng said that it is inconvenient to talk more, but he thinks that the current management of the FA does have a lot of room for improvement. "We Chinese have a habit of always using our own people. In fact, as long as you are talented, why not divide the party? If you want to use people, you need to be able to control him. If you can't control them, then you can let others do it. . "
He also pointed out that some of the directors of the FA are not passionate about football, but just feel that the director's status is an honor, and they have no intention to promote local football reform. He suggested that the FA could be reorganized to a certain extent. More people who are familiar with local football, such as retired players and coaches, will join the board of directors. Those who are not keen on football will be re-appointed as non-executive directors of similar listed companies. ideal.
Local wave not accepting betting
One of the dead ends of local football is the lack of funds. There are too few spectators in the Hong Kong Super League and the commercial value is not high. The league and the entire FA's commercial sponsorship are lackluster. Each club is mainly funded by the class leader, but "old football" is always a business with no guarantee of return and it is difficult to maintain it for a long time. Therefore, the livelihood of the team and players may not be guaranteed, and it is difficult to attract potential young players to participate in football. The level of the game cannot be improved, forming a vicious circle.
Like many people in this world, Roger Cheng strongly supports the legalization of local football betting. He pointed out that opening a betting market by the Jockey Club is a must-have business: "I have never seen anyone get rich through gambling." And the profits made by the Jockey Club are used for charity purposes, which can be used to put the proceeds of the prize pool. The development of local football can also attract more spectators to the Hong Kong Super League and bring more commercial sponsorship: "After legalization of betting, some people who do not like football will also go to watch ... When everyone's participation has increased, you can Attract more advertisers and help the industry. "
Regarding this proposal, the government has long had an official position, that is, "government policy does not encourage gambling." Luo Jiecheng asked: "Everyone is betting on horses and betting on the Premier League every day. Call the jockey club and you can bet anything."
As for the potential false wave problem, he believes that the focus should be on regulatory policies. The government and law enforcement agencies need to cooperate. In fact, the number of employees involved in the Hong Kong Super League is not large. More than a billion, you can also supervise. So why ca n’t football be supervised? This is an excuse ... This is a government policy issue. It is preconceived and does not allow you to express your opinions. "I just do n’t allow it." Attitude. "He also pointed out that even if Hong Kong does not gamble, there will still be bets on Hong Kong football in the domestic market. The potential false wave risk exists anyway, but it is better to legalize it and manage it yourself.
Hong Kong won the East Asian Games in 2009. (Photo of Hong Kong Football Association)
Advocating the Jockey Club to take over the Hong Kong Super League, "Even animals can be managed, not to mention football?"
Another important suggestion, Roger acknowledged that the Hong Kong Super League will always need to be independent of the FA structure, and the FA is focused on dealing with other leagues and teams. As far as he knows, the FIFA also encourages leagues around the world to do so. Do: "The Jockey Club can do it (management). If the Jockey Club is willing to do it, I dare to say that each (advertiser) will line up to sponsor (Hong Kong Super League). The horse will have enough experience, and the horse racing is so difficult to manage. There are animals and people, and many people are involved. The jockey club can also manage it, not to mention football? "
He pointed out that market promotion, the Jockey Club is first-rate, and Hong Kong is now the world's best-known horse racing. It will legalize local football and take over the football league: "Help Hong Kong's football development and give young people a goal. Why not do it? He thought that as long as the government entrusted the Jockey Club, it could be implemented. However, he admits that this reform is a dream for him, and there are many obstacles in reality. "Maybe after I say it, there is a 1% chance." He smiled bitterly.
Having said so many technical difficulties in reform, does it actually reflect that the government ’s overall football policy thinking is out of order? Luo Jiecheng did not answer directly, but he said that Hong Kong was a very successful place, but the development was too focused on finance and making money, and the government's long-term policies have not put much attention on arts and sports. For example, he pointed out that many members have helped the football industry to fight for many years, hoping that the business sector will receive tax rebates when investing in sports. In fact, the revenue involved is not much for the government. The response was "difficult". The official explanation was, It will take several years for the Home Affairs Bureau to go through the Financial Secretary and the Budget after approval, but it has not been done after a few years. As a result, under these administrative bureaucratic procedures, reforms were left to nothing.
Roger acknowledged that Malaysia will have sufficient experience in managing the Hong Kong Super League and related gaming activities. (Profile picture)
Sports can unite people's hearts especially in times of social unrest
Today Hong Kong ’s society is severely torn, and the yellow-blue camp is in full swing. Roger admits that under such an environment of social turmoil, sports have more social value: "Why do so many governments in the world, such as the United States and Britain, attach so much importance to Sports development? Because they all understand that sports can rejuvenate the country and unite the people. "
Luo Jiecheng mentioned that, in fact, the Hong Kong government has given sufficient resources to football development: "I dare not say that it is 100% adequate, but at least 60% to 70% have been given." But he believes that implementation is the biggest problem and the plan may be detailed. However, implementations such as management, youth training, and talent recruitment often have limitations. For example, he believes that the FA recruits chief executives and coaches at high salaries, but whether they are familiar with the development of Hong Kong football, there are some doubts that Hong Kong needs Some local management talent.
May Hong Kong Football debut at World Cup in 2034
At the time, Nanhua, who was under the leadership of Roger, had invested tens of millions of dollars every year. I believe many people remember that he was engaged in public relations skills, such as making his own mascot, finding sponsorship from big brands, leading players to wear suits to attend events, etc. It is like creating a brand and own star. But with Roger stepping down as the postmaster in 2014, these things have become absolute. Sixty-year-old Luo Jiecheng is currently the chairman of Hong Kong Pegasus, another local team, but the class fees and propaganda methods he has invested can no longer be compared with that year.
However, Roger claimed that the investment was the second, and now it is time to give more opportunities to young players to play. He smiled and said, "One day I can still walk with my feet still clear, I can continue to play football. I did not order One goal, how many years will I spend in football, in short, how much can I do. Of course, one thing must be said is that this road is very difficult. "However, he still maintained his goal:" I hope the Hong Kong team can be 2034 Enter the World Cup finals week. "
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