HONG KONG SPORTS BOSSES REVIEWING HOW GOVERNING BODIES OPERATE, SAYS CITY’S LEADER

Chief Executive John Lee says Sports Federation & Olympic Committee report should be ready later this year, as he weighs in on swimming row

Hong Kong's leader has weighed in on the row involving the city's swimming association and one of its affiliate clubs, and said officials had been working on a review of how sporting bodies in the city operate.

Pointing to the "significant amount" of taxpayer money spent each year on sport, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said if areas for improvement were identified they should be approached with a "responsible attitude".

Lee's comments before Tuesday's weekly meeting of the Executive Council, came in response to a row that erupted last week between swimming chiefs and Olympian Alex Fong, who said they had barred a nine-year-old from a meet because he belonged to a non-eligible club.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

The Hong Kong China Swimming Association said Fong knew the rules regarding club eligibility, but later said the boy could compete as an individual, rather than as a representative of the singer and actor's academy.

Lee said a working group established by the city's Sports Federation and Olympic Committee (SFOC) in 2020 was expected to report back later this year on its review of the governance and operations of sporting organisations.

"The government spends a significant amount of money each year, working with various sports associations to promote sports activities and assist in the training of athletes," he said, adding that he agreed sports bodies should be free to establish criteria for allocating resources and arranging competitions.

"However, if areas for improvement are identified, they should be addressed with a pragmatic and responsible attitude. This process requires open communication and discussion among all parties to explore any optimisation possibilities."

Swimming bosses were poised to meet with the SFOC, along with representatives from other groups to deal with the matter, he said.

Despite meeting the qualifying standard, the boy had been excluded from an age group championships because Fong's club was only a competition member, the lowest of three affiliate rankings.

"There are no ways for lower-tier clubs to develop, and they will lose their swimmers," Fong said last week. "It affected not only us but [other] clubs. This is not healthy for the development of the swimming sector, and that was why I had to raise the issue."

In announcing that the boy would now be allowed to take part in future competitions, the swimming association said those who belonged to lower ranked clubs could apply to take part if they met the required standards.

"The executive committee will then carefully consider each case individually based on the same principles," it said on Sunday.