The Hong Kong FA "secured a multimillion-dollar boost from the government" to secure its future for the next five years, but the professional clubs "are still more or less on their own despite the huge cash injection," according to Chan Kin-wa of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. The funds "will be spent mainly on engaging key management and technical staff to implement the HKFA's five-year strategic plan." It is believed around a fifth of the annual grant, HK$5M ($645,000), "will cover the salaries" of CEO Mark Sutcliffe and Hong Kong's head coach Kim Pan-gon.
Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Jonathan McKinley: "There won't be any direct money given to teams in the Premier League as they are professional clubs. In the end, the clubs will benefit because more people will come to watch them and the games may also attract television money." McKinley said that "the funding would be time-limited for five years until March 2020 and any cash earmarked but not allocated by March 31 of the corresponding year would lapse and not be carried forward." One of the key targets of the strategic plan "is to ensure the men's senior team world ranking averages 130 within five years, but this target is not included in the performance indicators" (SCMP, 1/9).
