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Donal Scully

A little piece of Ireland comes to Hong Kong this weekend when the SAR hosts the ninth Asian Gaelic Football Sevens tournament.

Aberdeen Sports Ground will be the hub of the biggest ever Irish sports gathering in the SAR or in the region.

With 32 squads (20 men's and 12 women's) the event is the grandest yet staged, says the Hong Kong Gaelic Athletic Association (HKGAA). And they'll all be hoping for the luck of the Irish.

'Over 400 players will descend on Hong Kong for the weekend in an attempt to become an Asian Gaelic Football Champion,' says Fergal Power, who has headed the tournament organising committee in Hong Kong for the past two years. 'In recognition of this tournament's growth, the GAA in Ireland is sending two senior referees to officiate at the event this year,' says Power.

Where last year's tournament featured 62 games in all, this time there will be that number tomorrow  alone, with a further 22 on Sunday.

'That's why we have expanded to satellite venues in Happy Valley and Pokfulam [Sandy Bay] for the morning session on Saturday,' says HKGAA member, eight-year Asian Gaelic Games veteran and Japan Exiles player Joe Burke.

'We then remain at Aberdeen for all the knockout games from tomorrow afternoon through to Sunday evening.'

This is the second successive year Hong Kong has hosted the event but it will be the last for the time being as the rotating venue will shift to Shanghai in 2005.

Following the rugby sevens model, seven-a-side teams play matches of two seven-minute periods, with an initial round robin followed by knockout stages divided into Cup, Plate and Bowl sections.

Last year's event raised a tidy US$25,000 for charity through sponsorships.

This time around, the principal sponsor is the Irishabroad.com website.

'Aberdeen Stadium on Sunday will be a colourful spectacle with thousands of spectators expected to attend and soak up a bit of Irish culture and fun,' says Michael Lacy, chairman of the HKGAA.

'There will be ample amounts of family entertainment, including clowns and a bouncing castle for the kids and food and a number of beverage stalls.'

The men's tournament includes teams from South Korea, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Taiwan, Shanghai, Taiwan, Shenzhen, Thailand and, of course, Hong Kong, with some cities sending more than one side.

Hong Kong will also be represented by the HK Dragons, a team of converted Australian Rules players. The women's field includes a new entry from Beijing.

Gaelic football bears a resemblance to Aussie Rules with handling allowed and plenty of hard hits. The goal posts look like a soccer-rugby hybrid with scores under the bar being a goal (worth three points) and over the bar earning one point.

This year, South Korea return to defend the Derek Brady Cup (for men) and attempt to become the first team to win three Asian championships in a row.

'The Koreans are the favourites in the men's tournament. They're so young and fit, it's just not fair,' Burke says with mock bitterness.

'But Japan should run them close and Singapore are usually good. In the women's, Japan and Hong Kong are the picks.'

The women's final will be the culmination of the two-day tournament on Sunday evening.

'That's because last year's ladies' final was so good,' Burke says. 'It went to three periods of extra-time before Japan defeated Hong Kong.'

The event will also play host to the first-ever Hong Kong Juvenile Championship. Teams from various Cantonese speaking primary schools will compete following the introduction of Gaelic games to a number of schools earlier this year.

The first balls will be thrown in at 8.30am tomorrow  and 9am on Sunday.



Stars hoping for luck of the Irish in Sevens