Lack Of Funding Forces Organizers To Once Again Cancel Hong Kong Sixes

The fear of "jeopardising the financial health of Hong Kong cricket" has forced organizers of the Hong Kong Sixes to "cancel the tournament for the second year running," according to Alvin Sallay of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. Hong Kong Cricket Association Chair Mike Walsh rued the "lack of financial support from the government as well as the corporate sector in backing the tournament." Months of "chasing a title sponsor" after the government's Mega Events Fund turned down two applications for funding "proved fruitless, forcing the HKCA to throw in the towel rather than take the risk of using its own funds to stage the two-day tournament in November." The HKCA "laid the blame squarely on the Hong Kong Tourism Commission-run MEF." Walsh said, "Without support from the Mega Events Fund, the costs of staging the tournament in 2014 were significantly increased, making securing sufficient corporate sponsorship a challenge" (SCMP, 7/19).