The ground-breaking ceremony for the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre held today (22 May) marks a significant milestone in local football development. Funded by a HK$63 million donation from the Club’s Charities Trust, the Centre, located in Shek Mun, Sha Tin, will feature extensive training facilities to nurture local football talents upon completion.
Today’s ground-breaking ceremony was attended by the Club’s Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges; Deputy Director (Leisure Services) of Leisure and Cultural Services Department Raymond Fan; Shatin District Council Chairman Ho Hau-cheung; Shatin District Officer Cora Ho; Hong Kong Football Association Chairman Brian Leung; Kitchee Foundation Chairman Ken Ng and other guests.
Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges said that today was a major milestone in the development of football in Hong Kong because the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre was the first purpose-built football training centre in the city. “Kitchee is the Club’s strategic partner in football development; we believe that software is just as important as hardware, and we would like to work together to raise the standard of football and football development in Hong Kong.”
With an area of 15,000 square metres, the Centre will include multi-purpose training pitches and five single-storey amenities blocks with changing rooms, storage and office space. Upon completion, the Centre will not only provide facilities requested for expanding Kitchee’s youth football programmes, but also be opened to the public and community organisations for training purposes and recreational uses. It is expected over 100,000 users will benefit from the Centre’s facilities annually.
The Club has long been a staunch supporter of local football development, contributing over HK$170 million over the past few years. Examples include funding a three-year Jockey Club Youth Football Development Programme, providing football training to close to 10,000 young people from across the city’s 18 districts; supporting Hong Kong Football Association to organise the AFC U-14 Championship 2014-Qualifiers (Group H) Competition in Hong Kong, as well as the Hong Kong Games and its Futsal competition.
In addition, the Club is collaborating with Manchester United to run four football-related programmes. They are the Jockey Club Elite Youth Football Camp; the Jockey Club Youth Football Fitness Assessment; the Jockey Club School Football Development Scheme and the Jockey Club Youth Football Leadership Scheme.
The Jockey Club Elite Youth Football Camp is a three-year training programme offering an opportunity to outstanding young football players to receive world-class training from Manchester United Soccer School (MUSS), while the best-performing young players will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join the MUSS residential training programme for a week in the United Kingdom.
The Jockey Club Youth Football Fitness Assessment and Jockey Club School Football Development Scheme are aimed at bringing together overseas and local professionals in football training and sports science, to provide chances for young players to reach their full potential. In addition, the Jockey Club Youth Football Leadership Scheme is to boost young people’s organisational and leadership skills, to nurture future young community leaders.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is not only one of the world’s leading horse racing organisations, but also Hong Kong’s largest community contributor, donating HK$1.95 billion in 2012/13. In addition, the Club is a major taxpayer, Hong Kong’s single largest by far, generating over HK$17.64 billion in 2012/13 for public funds. The Club pioneers technology applications for sporting and betting entertainment, striving for the highest levels of customer service. As a membership club, it is recognised as one of Asia’s most prestigious. These multifaceted roles make it a well-respected and remarkable organisation, dedicated to its mission of enhancing the quality of life for all Hong Kong people.
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The Cluba£į?s Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges says today is a major milestone in the development of football in Hong Kong because the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre is the first purpose-built football training centre in the city.
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Photos 2, 3:
The Cluba£į?s Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (2nd right) joins Kitchee Foundation Chairman Ken Ng (centre); Shatin District Council Chairman Ho Hau-cheung (2nd left); Hong Kong Football Association Chairman Brian Leung (1st left) and Tysan Holdings Limited Managing Director Victor Fung (1st right) to officiate at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre.
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The Cluba£į?s Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (5th right) and Executive Director, Charities, Douglas So (3rd right); Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Jonathan McKinley (2nd right); Deputy Director (Leisure Services) of Leisure and Cultural Services Department Raymond Fan (1st right); Kitchee Foundation Chairman Ken Ng (5th left); Shatin District Council Chairman Ho Hau-cheung (4th left); Shatin District Officer Cora Ho (3rd left); Hong Kong Football Association Chairman Brian Leung (2nd left) and Chief Executive Officer Mark Sutcliffe (1st left) and other guest perform the traditional roast pig-cutting ceremony.
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Group photo.
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