Lawmaker Adrian Pedro Ho calls for closer monitoring of Hong Kong’s national sports bodies
The New People’s Party member also suggests a better look at NSA finances and the introducing a sports arbitration mechanism for disputes
Hong Kong lawmaker Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong has called for closer monitoring of government-subsided national sports associations (NSAs) as he publicised his ideas on corporate governance on Thursday.
Ho, a member of the New People’s Party, also suggested introducing a sports arbitration mechanism to settle disputes between athletes and their respective associations.
He also hoped the government would strengthen the governance of Hong Kong’s sports associations, and increase the monitoring of the use of public funds.
“I also hope the public will be given more explanations and more transparency in this regard,” Ho said. “As for the national associations, I hope they can report their expenditure status to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department regularly.”
Ho cited as an example the Hong Kong Weightlifting and Powerlifting Association staging an overseas weightlifting competition during the Covid-19 pandemic that resulted in a six-figure expenditure, but the Legislative Council member revealed he had asked the authority about the incident but had yet to receive a reply.
“I hope aspects of the spending of public funds can be improved so that we can prevent the media from continuing to report on sports bodies’ confusing accounting, unfair selections and other negative news,” he said.
Ho, whose uncle is Edmund Ho Hau-wah, a former chief executive of Macau, also believed the introduction of a sports arbitration mechanism would be a “very important” aspect of the city’s future sports development.
