Hong Kong press group’s football tournament hits another snag after gov’t closes pitch for repairs
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s leisure services department has announced a nearly two-month closure of a football pitch in Happy Valley merely days before a press union’s scheduled tournament matches.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LSCD) said on Tuesday that a football pitch at Happy Valley Recreation Ground would be temporarily closed from February 7 to March 31 for “repair works.”
The Hong Kong Journalists Association had planned to hold the HKJA Cup matches at the Happy Valley pitch on February 8 and 15, according to InMedia.
Shortly after the LCSD’s announcement, former HKJA chair Ronson Chan said in a Facebook post: “For no reason, the LCSD shut down the venue for two months for repairs. We’ll keep applying and see what happens.”
HKFP has reached out to the journalists’ union for comment.
Second cancellation
It was the second time the HKJA Cup hit a snag due to a venue cancellation.
The HKJA was forced to postpone the tournament last month after Kitchee Sports Club cancelled their two-day booking, on January 11 and 18, at the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre.
Kitchee Sports Club, one of Hong Kong’s prominent football clubs, said it was unable to provide the venue, without providing reasons why, according to local media reports.
HKJA chairperson Selina Cheng told Yahoo News that Kitchee’s cancellation had violated the spirit of contractual obligations, adding that the union suspected the football club had been pressured into cancelling the bookings.
The journalists’ union successfully held matches at the Kitchee Centre in November, according to earlier HKJA announcements.
The press group has been thrust into the spotlight in recent months, from Cheng’s “unlawful dismissal” by American newspaper the Wall Street Journal to harassment targeting members of HKJA’s executive committee, as well as other journalists.
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