Exclusive | 2034 Fifa World Cup still Hong Kong’s goal, Kai Tak can boost interest: Eric Fok Q&A
Hong Kong FA chairman covers all the hot football topics, including Kai Tak’s potential, exodus to mainland China and youth development
In the following Q&A, Fok talks about the representative team’s 2034 Fifa World Cup qualifying ambitions, the improvement in Hong Kong football’s youth structure, plans to follow the Japanese blueprint for international success and the potentially game-changing impact of the new Kai Tak Sports Park.
Eric, the HKFA introduced an under-22 Premier League this year – where does youth development fit into the organisation’s blueprint for the future?
“It is the core part of our strategy … our under-23s reached the semi-finals of the Asian Games [in 2023], which showed they had the quality to perform on the international stage.
09:51
Hong Kong football boss Eric Fok open to legalising gambling
“We had to find more playing opportunities for them. Our underage representative sides are playing stronger international teams and we will use a lot of U23s in next week’s Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup. Players, fans and stakeholders have a common goal to develop Hong Kong football, so we needed links [between youth and senior football], so players have a clear career path. We want to produce more talent and [consequently] a stronger Hong Kong team.”
