Opinion | Real Madrid, Barcelona legends trotting on pitch sum up Hong Kong approach to mega-events
A pointless friendly, involving ageing footballers who will hobble around playing fancy passes as part of a corporate jolly to Asia
And then you read the fine print, or the not-so-fine print, with the word legends attached to the end, and the warmth of the moment is lost as the blood runs cold.
Another pointless friendly, involving ageing footballers who will hobble around for 90 minutes playing fancy passes as part of a corporate jolly to Asia.
In many ways, the sight of creaking legs in a crumbling edifice is the perfect illustration of the city’s approach, not only to the “mega-events” it seems determined to attract but also to what it thinks people will pay to watch.
At HK$680 (US$87.50) for the cheapest ticket, a rotund Roberto Carlos lolling around Hong Kong Stadium does not scream packed-out ground, no matter what the organisers claim, nor does it say globally important sporting hub.
And if tying the city’s relevance to athletic prowess is the game, then associating with footballers who lost theirs several World Cups ago does not seem like a sensible opening move.
