Kai Tak Stadium Debuts with Full-house Trial of U22 Football Match

Local football club Kitchee beat the North District team in Kai Tak stadium’s first youth football match yesterday with 50,000 in attendance. 

The  Hong Kong Premier League Under-22 football match was a stress test for the stadium’s sports park set to open March 1,according to the government press conference. 

The Kai Tak Sports Park is the largest sports infrastructure in Hong Kong, including the 50,000-seat stadium, a 10,000-seat indoor sports center, a 5,000-seat public sports ground, and about 14 hectares of landscaped open space.

“It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the players. I have never experienced such an impressive game with this amount of audience in my whole career as a football player,” said Chan Chi-hong, the head coach of the North District team.

Chan said he was disappointed that the football field is artificial grass. “The grass matters a lot to football players. It could affect their overall performance,” he added.

Dai Tsz-hin, a player of the North District team, said he was excited to kick off the match. 

“Even though most of the audience might not be football fans, I still heard them cheer for us, which makes me want to perform better,” he said.

It is expected to enhance sports development and stimulate growth in various sectors, including recreation, entertainment, tourism, and the mega-event economy, according to the policy address 2024.

Dan Tsang, 43, has been a local football fan for more than 30 years. When Tsang first heard about the plan to build this stadium, he doubted the need to spend this huge amount of money on a venue. 

“I am worried whether local football development in Hong Kong can make good use of a 50,000-seat stadium, as usually only around 2,000 people attend local matches,” said Tsang. 

The average number of audience members at local premier league games is 654 this season, according to the Hong Kong Football Association.

Residents near the stadium  previously worried about noise levels, but not complaints were reported during the test match.

During the stress test, the retractable roof of the main stadium was opened for the first time. 

Kai Tak Stadium will officially open on March 1.