Football Development in HK

Chan Kwan Ting, Eva (1008627753) ENS/3Fong Ka Yung, David (1008629853) EEE/3Yiu Ka Yan, Kitty (1008624983) FNS/3Zhang Yu, Charlie (1007602573) QFN/4

Presentation flow Introduction + Background Information - Charlie

Questionnaire and Interview result -Kitty

Case study with other countries - Eva

Soccer School - David

Conclusion and Suggestions – Kitty, Eva

Why interested?

In 2009, football championship in East Asian Games

Much enthusiasm Little play football

Objectives

Investigate the difficulties in football development in HK

Through analysis and case study to give some suggestions

Hypothesis

In Hong Kong, there are

not enough football facilities

such that Hong Kong’s

football programme can

be elevated to higher

international level

Terminology

What is the meaning of “enough”?

Terminology

Which aspect of facilities did we focus on? Tangible support

Football pitches, Football school

Terminology

“HK football”

HK professional player

(First, Second and

Third Division League)

TerminologyWhat is the definition of “higher international

level”? FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking above 100

Football Development in HK

In 1986, a new policy implement Forbid foreign player to play for

professional teams Cultivate a new generation of players Maintain the development of local football t

eamsMany foreign players left

Decrease in audience

Why decline?

More choices of entertainment Football player income decrease Lack of bright future of football

Ranking in FIFA

Football Pitches in HK

Types of pitches

5-a-side Hard-surface Soccer Pitches 7-a-side Hard-surface Soccer Pitches 7-a-side Natural Turf Surface Soccer Pitches 11-a-side Natural Turf Surface Soccer Pitches 7-a-side Artificial Turf Surface Soccer Pitches 11-a-side Artificial Turf Surface Soccer Pitches

International standard

Retangular Length

Minimum: 100m (110 yds)

Maximum: 110m (120 yds) Width

Minimum: 64m (70 yds)

Maximum: 75m (80 yds)

11-a-side Natural Turf Surface Pitches

District No. of pitches District No. of pitches

Eastern 1 Southern 1

Kowloon City 3 Tai Po 1

Kwai Tsing 2 Tsuen Wan 2

Kwun Tong 3 Tuen Mun 2

North 3 Wan Chai 4

Sham Shui Po 4 Yuen Long 2

Sha Tin 3 Total: 31

11-a-side Artifical Turf Surface Pitches

District No. of pitches District No. of pitches

Kowloon City 2 Tai Po 2

Kwai Tsing 1 Tuen Mun 1

Sai Kung 3 Wan Chai 1

Sha Tin 2 Wong Tai Sin 5

Southern 1 Yau Tsim Mong 1

Total: 19

Stadium

2 in HK

Hong Kong Stadium

Mong Kok Stadium

Analysis Part

Methodology

Questionnaire Interviews Case study (Compare with other countries)

Questionnaire survey

200 samples Duration: 1 month No restriction on gender and

age

Please rate the football pitches around your home

(1 is the lowest, 6 is the highest) Average: 3.70 Total: 563 Highest :1 Lowest: 6

Summary (1)

Think there is not enough football pitches (quantity)

Not satisfied with the football pitches (quality)

Think the qualities of football pitches are not good (quality)

Interviews

Football player Hong Kong Football Association Hong Kong Sports Institute Leisure and Cultural Services Department

Interview of football player Player of Yau Tsim Mong Football

Association 2008-2009 Hong Kong Reserved Team

League - 3rd runner-up 2008 NOW TV Teenage Football Promotion

Third Period (Division A1) – Champion 2008-2009 Nike Football Cup (U20) – 1st

runner-up

Video

Hong Kong Football Association

Not enough pitches for professional players

(Little training time) Poor quality of football pitches

(Excessive use of pitches which due to insufficient football pitches)

Home venues Clubs

Hong Kong Stadium South China Athletic Association

Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground The Citizen Athletic Assocation

Yuen Long Sports Ground Tin Shui Wai Pegasus Football Club

Tai Po Sports Ground Tai Po Football Club

Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground Kit Chee SC

Tsing Yi Sports Ground Sun HeiTuen Mun Progoal

Sham Shui Po Sports Ground Fourway

Kowloon Bay Park Happy Valley Athletic AssociationAdvanced Tai Chung

Only Hong Kong Stadium cannot be booked by the public

Many home venues are managed under Leisure and Cultural Services Department

(Public can book as well) Some home venues are shared by 2 clubs

(May compete for the pitches)

Priority in booking venues

Can reserve up to 12 months in advance (minimum: 4 months in advance)

Can only reserve up to 8 hours (Within peak hours) of 1 sports ground in 1 month

Peak hours (HK Island and Kowloon)

Mon-Fri : After 5pm

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays:

Opening hour Peak hours (The New Territories)

Mon-Fri : After 6pm

Saturday: After 1pm

Sunday and Public Holidays: Opening hour

Summary (2)

Demand in pitches is high (Both public and professional football leagues)

Supply not enough (especially peak hours) Excessive use of pitches Affect pitches quality

Affect training quality

Football Facilities in Other countries1. Japan

2. Singapore

Purpose of Studying: • understand more about the football facilities and football development in other places in Asia

•explore their strengths and weaknesses, see how these might be applied, or be of interest to Hong Kong

Case Study of Singapore

FIFA ranking : 134th (best record 73rd in 1993) Slightly higher than HK (143rd ) Situation similar to Hong Kong

1. no world cup records

2. declining trend of football development only qualified once for the Asian Cup, currently 2nd

in its qualifying group for the 2011 event, behind Iran

Examples of main venue Stadium Seating Capacity Feature

Bishan Stadium 10,000 •One of the largest venues in Singapore•Will host the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games

Jalan Besar Stadium

6000 •One of the Singapore's oldest grounds•An artificial pitch was laid in 2008 – funded by FIFA’s Goal programme

Choa Chu KangStadium

4000 •Home stadium ofSingapore Armed Forces FC

Bedok Stadium 3864 •Home venue of Geyland United FC

Information on Football fields

Field Seating Capacity Feature

Farrer Park Field Nil 1 soccer field

Geylang Field Nil Opened to the public in 19731 Soccer field

St Wilfrid FieldNil 1 Standard Soccer

Field

2 5-A-Side Soccer Fields

Evaluation of Facilities Mostly multi-purpose venues with additional facilities

very few purpose-built football arenas

284 state fields had been released for recreational purposes to improve participation in sport and physical activity

One particular facility – Farrer Park has been designated for the home of grassroots football

Training facilitiesNational Football Academylaunched in 2000 with the aim of developing Singapore's mostpromising young footballers

systematic talent identification process with the best youth coaches in the country

teams at every age level from U14 to U18

producing players of outstanding football ability as wellas aiding their physiological, psychological and academic growth

Singapore Sports Schoolestablished in 2002

responsible for training U13 to U16 SchoolTeams

also provides academic programmes, a seamless academic pathway form secondary school to university

Strengths Weaknesses

National Academy has been developed

Some issues over facility quality

Good base of football at most levels

lack of football-orientated venues

National Academy has been developed

all main stadia aresimilar and multi-purpose

New National Stadium at Sports Hub

National team has not enjoyed significant success

Case Study of JapanRanked 31 in the FIFA rankings – the second highest nation from the Asian qualifying group (behind Australia)

International Acheivements•1968 Mexico Olympic Games - Bronze Medal•1992 2nd Dynasty Cup 1992 - Champion •1992 10th Asian Cup - Champion •1993 5th Afro-Asian Nations Cup - Champion •1995 3rd Dynasty Cup - Champion •1998 4th Dynasty Cup - Champion •1999 FIFA World Youth Championship – Silver Medal •2000 12th Asian Cup - Champion •2001 FIFA Confederations Cup - Silver Medal •2002 FIFA World Cup - Round of 16 •2004 13th Asian Cup - Champion

Main Football Facilities in Japan

Venue Capacity Features

Saitama Stadium 72370 Japan's largest stadium, multipurpose stadium with athletics track

Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa

51000 mainly used for football matches, the attached track is also suitable for other sports

Hiroshima Big Arch Stadium

50000 All seater venue

the venue of the AFC Asian Cup

Sapporo Dome 41580 multi-purpose venue, once the venue of World Cup, currently being held for baseball and soccer events

Evaluation of the facilities the quality of venues is extremely high

has been further enhanced by the requirements of FIFA for hosting the World Cup in 2002, with Korea

meet strict international standards, and are suitable for every level of club or international competition

cutting edge in terms of design, layout and technology, providing a superb experience for spectators

Evaluation of the facilities Many primary schools and educational instit

utions have basic facilities A pattern of growth in numbers of all

facilities (indoor and outdoor) in recent years

still a demand for more facilities – nearly 40% of the population want increases in the number of facilities, while over 22% would like to see increases in opening hours.

(source: Prime Minister’s Office: Opinion Survey on Stamina & Sports)

Strengths Weaknesses

Strongest professional league in Asia

Japanese FA relies on J league too much

Facility quality very high – inspirational arenas for spectators

Some clubs still have grounds which they cannot fill

Intelligent approach to home grounds – many J League clubs have two venues

Has reached its plateau?

International success

Significant difference when compared to Hong Kong

Each first division team has at least one home ground

Most of the clubs are equipped with high capacity and high quality and venues

Sufficient training facilities (purpose-built football training school, sports clubs with specialized purpose)

Soccer Schools in HK

Many soccer schools in HK, including: Arsenal (Hong Kong) Soccer School

Barcelona Soccer School in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited (HKSI)

Soccer Schools in HK

Aim to train young football players (usually under 12)

Arsenal (Hong Kong) Soccer

SchoolTraining: Use Arsenal Training method Mainly develop individual skill Enhance team spirit Develop skill of positioning

Arsenal (Hong Kong) Soccer

SchoolCompetition:

Arsenal 3 v 3 World Cup held each year give a chance to participate in some

international competition the participated team include Wales,

England and Spain and other countries

Arsenal (Hong Kong) Soccer School

Worldwide: enable young players to experience football

coached by the Arsenal way, Arsenal Soccer Schools are all over the world

Important information by Telephone interview to

Arsenal (Hong Kong) Soccer School:

Selection: No specific requirement Aim at increasing the ‘’football population ‘’

Future development: competition will be assessed by the

professional coach Outstanding children will be marked and

recommended to The Arsenal Football Club Excellent player can join the squad of

Eastern District

Advantages: Can increase the ‘’football population’’ in

Hong Kong

Problems: Quantity of football pitch is much less than those in Europe

Only link up to the Eastern District Squad but not HK team and the first division league teams of Hong Kong

Links up with the Arsenal football club but no successful case

No training program provide to children after 12

Barcelona soccer school

Training: 2 training courses per week and 1 hour

7 football competition

Important information by Telephone interview to

Barcelona soccer school in Hong Kong

 :

Selection: Strictly selection by the coach Not similar to Extra-curricular

activities

Difference between the Barcelona Soccer

School in HK and those in other countries: In USA, the tuition is not free Selection requirement will be lower than us

Advantages: Free to join Aims to discover the outstanding and elite

football player in HK Outstanding player will be promoted to U12

HK Football team Many successful case.

Problems: Only consider children up to 11 years old no training program provide to the children

after 11 The football pitches in Hong Kong are much

less than other country

General problems of Hong Kong Football School

No training program provide to the children after 12

The football pitches in Hong Kong are much less than other country

Give up when stop training

Need to use public football pitchesNot enough training and worse quality

Do not provide good future development

Seldom link up with HK football team and the First Division League of HK

Affect the quality of HK professional football player

The Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited (HKSI)

Established on 1 October 2004 Aim to provide an environment in which

sport talent can be identified and developed Provide elite coaching and training, sports

science, sports medicine, strength and conditioning

The Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited (HKSI)

Elite Sport Program in HKSI: Do not include football

Problems: hard to develop to elite level Lower the opportunities to win medals in

international competitions

Conclusion

Problems in Hong Kong identified

Supply cannot meet demand Poor quality of pitches No purpose-built football training

school

Professional football team reduce chance to have “new-blood”

Affect football development

AFC Assessment of Asian Football (Out of Total of 500)

Hong Kong did not meet the AFC criteria for entry into the AFC Champions League (Grade D).

There is an urgent need to improve thegovernance, leadership, business, facilities, grounds and organisation of football in Hong Kong.

Suggestions to improve the facilities

the Government allocate a ‘home’ ground to each First Division Team

Build more artificial turf pitches to meet the demand Reduce the number of training sessions and matches

of natural turf pitches ensure sufficient time for LCSD to improve the quality

Develop a playing pitch strategy Develop and manage a new “national” football

training centre (Reference example: Everton Football Club training centre)