A spokeswoman for Kowloon City, the First Division champions, said the club “have no information at this moment” over whether they will play in next season’s Premier League. The Post has been told, however, that Kowloon City would accept an invite for promotion.
A nine-team league would raise questions over the structure of the competition. The Asian Football Confederation stipulates member association leagues must stage an eight-month campaign, featuring 27 matches per club across the league and domestic cup.
The latest developments will intensify fears over the sustainability of a professional league in Hong Kong, and officials did little to assuage concerns on Saturday.
A spokesman for the Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) said the organisation “don’t have any official response” to developments over the past 24 hours.
It is unclear who will take charge of clearing up the current Premier League mess, with the governing body searching for a new CEO, after sacking previous incumbent Joaquin Tam last month.
Tam was the signatory on a letter, dated April 29, telling clubs of a May 31 deadline, and HK$50,000 cost, for entry into next season’s Premier League.
The league’s 10th anniversary campaign, in 2023-24, was plagued by problems from the outset. The FA blamed the resignations of a host of staff for delaying their fixtures announcement until two weeks before the opening match, while the introduction of VAR was a mess, given it was not used in every match.
“It gives the perception it is not a level playing field,” Mark Palios, the former English FA CEO, told the Post.
Attendances have continued to nosedive, too, with an average of 576 people watching Premier League matches. Only Kitchee (1,147) averaged four-figure attendances.
The figure for Sham Shui Po was 629. Resources Capital attracted an average of 350 fans, while an average of 250 watched HKU23.
There had been concerns over HKFC’s Premier League future, but club members recently voted to continue in the top division.
https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3267651/more-chaos-hong-kong-football-two-clubs-quit-local-premier-league?module=top_story&pgtype=section
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