Break Ground for the city’s first youth football t

Hong Kong, 22 May 2014 –Kitchee Foundation held an official Ground-breaking Ceremony today for the city’s first youth football training centre – Jockey Club Kitchee Centre at Shek Mun, Shatin. Officiating guests at the Ceremony for the Centre included Mr. Ken K. Ng, Chairman of Kitchee Foundation, Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, JP, Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr. Raymond Fan, JP, Deputy Director (Leisure Services), Leisure and Cultural Services Department, HKSAR, Ms. Cora Ho, JP, Sha Tin District Officer, Mr. Ho Hau Cheung, BBS, MH, Chairman of Sha Tin District Council, Mr. Brian Leung, Chairman of Hong Kong Football Association, and Mr. Victor Fung, Managing Director, Tysan Holdings Limited. The Centre will be the first football training facility in Hong Kong designed primarily to train and to develop young boys from the age of 6. It will include a playing area of multi-purpose artificial turf, which may also provide an alternative training ground for other sports as well as for recreational uses. Speaking at the Ceremony, Mr. Ken K. Ng, Chairman of Kitchee Foundation said, “We are delighted to break ground for this project today, marking the start of construction of the Centre. We are most grateful to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for their generous donation of $63 million for the construction of the Jockey Club Kitchee Centre. “In addition to nurturing the next generations of young footballer in Hong Kong, when completed, will also provide over 2,000 sessions per year for public use. The construction of the Centre is currently scheduled to complete by the end of 2014.” Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, JP, Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, added, “The city’s first purpose-built football training centre will provide not only much-needed pitches on which our talented boys and girls can practise, but also the back-up facilities to ensure our goals – to raise the long-term standards and competiveness of football in Hong Kong by helping the city’s young players improve their physical fitness and technical skills – are achieved in a professional manner.” The Site is near the Shek Mun MTR Station and occupies an area of 15,050 sq.m (=215m x 70m). The playing area is 178m x 70m, which will align into 3 different configurations of pitches to be used for different age-categories and different training purposes. The Centre will include multi-purpose training pitches and five single-storey amenities blocks with changing rooms, storage and office space.