Tuesday 11 November 2014

Football; Beauty and the Beast 足球—美女與野獸

Football; Beauty and the Beast


I can’t remember a time when football wasn’t an important part of my life. One of my first memories is England winning the World Cup. I was four years old and I always mention this because it hasn’t happened since and may not happen again in my lifetime! I also vividly recall the excitement of my first live match on Boxing Day 1969, Burnley v Liverpool (a fixture which, coincidentally, will be happening again this year exactly 45 years later). Throughout my childhood, playing football in the school playground, the street and the park with my friends was an everyday occurrence that I took for granted. In one way or another either personally or professionally football has been a constant part of my life ever since and it’s fair to say that over the years it has developed into a bit of a love-hate relationship. That might sound odd, so let me explain.


The things I love about football:
  • It’s easy to play: One of the beauties of the sport is its simplicity. You can amuse yourself for hours with just a ball, kicking it against a wall, playing ‘keepy up’ etc. You don’t need much equipment and the rules are simple too so it’s easy to learn both the basic skills and how to play. With a ball and a bit of space, people can have a game, it’s that simple.
  • The simplicity belies its complexity and skill: Almost everyone can play football, however not every person, and certainly not every team, can play it well. I love the fact that to get really good you need to blend natural ability and hard work. Watching a top class player or team is like watching poetry in motion. It’s called the beautiful game because the sublime skills of the rare footballing geniuses are breathtaking. The fact that the fusion of talent, tactics and skills so rarely come together make it an even more joyous thing to behold when it does. Top players and teams make it look easy, but those of us who have played even at a moderate level know that it is anything but easy.  
  • It’s universal: I am an avid follower of other sports too. Cricket and rugby are among my favourites but they are not what I would call truly global. Football is arguably unique as a team sport in that it is played virtually everywhere. Of course its universal popularity is in part due to its simplicity. We shouldn’t underestimate this global appeal because as a potential power for good, football is well-placed to use its influence to promote harmony and goodwill.
  • It’s good for you and society: Playing football promotes positive health both physical and mental. If done correctly, training for and playing football makes you strong, fit, agile and flexible. It is good for your skeletal and cardio-vascular systems and reduces stress. Physical activity also enhances cognitive performance – it’s good for your brain too. A happy, healthy and engaged population is good for society.
  • Being part of a team: I retired from playing football as a veteran when I was in my mid 40s. My body told me to quit much earlier than that but I just loved the camaraderie and being part of a team. You can’t beat the adrenaline rush just before kick-off and for me, it’s not quite the same in individual sports. Whether you are a player or a fan, following a team can bring people together. Friendships made through sports teams tend to endure.
  • Football can be a metaphor for life: If you learn and play properly, football teaches you lots about life; how win with humility, how to lose with good grace. It teaches the benefits of teamwork and the direct causal relationship between effort and positive outcomes. Equally, you learn about overcoming adversity and how to treat other people with respect.

So I love football for many reasons but chiefly because of its inherent qualities of fun and excitement. At its best it embodies the essence of sport – healthy and pure competition between two teams where honest endeavour brings success.  



Football should always be a great experience on and off the pitch; unfortunately it just isn’t!   

The things I hate about football: 
  • Commercialisation: Football is often used by people with no empathy or love for it, as a ‘tool’ with which to make money. I guess this is no different to other industries, but I draw the line when it becomes ‘exploitation’ of players or fans or anybody else for that matter.
  • Greed: This can apply to TV companies, corporate bodies, agents, players, even Associations etc. There is a lot of money in football but only in a very few places. Some people can’t resist the temptation to line their own pockets rather than making sure scarce resources are distributed more equitably. 
  • Corruption: This takes a number of forms ranging from officials in power abusing their positions to match-fixers deliberately affecting the outcome of a match for personal gain. These people destroy the soul of football.
  • Cheating: I can’t abide cheats. Cheating takes many forms whether it is deliberately fielding an ineligible player, taking performance enhancing drugs, fixing a match or diving in the penalty area. One method of cheating that has got me incensed recently is players feigning injury, particularly to waste time as the final whistle gets near. I left a match before the end recently because I was so disgusted with the players antics. Do they have no shame? Everyone knows they are blatantly cheating but for me what makes it worse is that they don’t seem to care that they are also making themselves look pathetically weak falling over for no apparent reason; they must have no pride either. When this sort of behaviour is encouraged or condoned by coaches, as it frequently is, it makes it even worse and makes my blood boil. People tell me to ‘get over it’ or ‘it’s part of the game’. Actually it’s NOT! Faking injury is unsporting behaviour and is a cautionable offence. 
  • Hooliganism: Football has been blighted by physical attacks on people and property for many years. I have literally feared for my life on a few occasions, most notably when watching England in a World Cup qualifier in Rome in 1997 (watch the youtube videos and you will see why). I am one of the lucky ones; I’m still here to tell the tale. It’s a sad fact that here are still horrible people who use football as an excuse for a fight.
  • Discrimination: In the same way that football can connect people, it can also divide them. Football is often very ‘tribal’ in nature and this can result in prejudices of all kinds being voiced. It is important to distinguish between rivalry and open hostility. Unfortunately I have witnessed vile and unforgivable personable abuse at football matches based on many factors including; team allegiance, colour of skin, race, age, sex, orientation etc. For some reason you just don’t get this level of unnecessary abuse and naked aggression at other sports.   
  • It brings the worst out in some people: More often than not, football is a positive influence but occasionally it is also used as an excuse for a range of negative human traits such as hatred, arrogance, discourtesy and violence. There are perpetrated both on and off the pitch. For example look at Louis Suarez and his seemingly uncontrollable desire to bite opponents. The one that bothers me most off the pitch is the lack of respect shown by so-called ‘fans’ towards each other, players and officials. Believe it or not I have seen a mass brawl involving parents at a children’s match.

There is no doubt that football is and will remain a world-wide phenomenon and as such it will continue to embody every facet of human nature, good and bad. So I suppose I am destined to continue my love-hate relationship with football (because after all this time I can’t turn my back on it), at times reaching the heights of elation, wonder and joy and at other times plunged into despair, disgust and depression. I just hope my heart can take the highs and lows; a polarized range of intense emotions!



I consider myself fortunate to work in an industry with the potential to transcend barriers of all kinds and to unite people in a common passion. If everyone involved in football at every level made more effort to eradicate the negative influences, the ‘beautiful game’ would flourish. As a consequence, I sincerely believe that the world would be a much better place.


Mark Sutcliffe CEO November 2014
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 足球—美女與野獸

本人從小就知道足球經已是我生活中一個不可或缺的部分。我最早的記憶之一是英格蘭贏得了世界盃冠軍,那時我只得四歲。本人時常強調此事,因為英格蘭再奪世界盃的希望或許在我的餘生中不會歷史重演。另一件深深印在我的腦海中的事情,就是我的第一次看現場球賽的情景,那是一九六九年拆禮物日舉利的聯賽賽事—般尼對利物浦(根據今年英超賽程,巧合地相隔四十五年後又再重演這一場對戰)!在我的童年生活中,每天都會在學校球場、街道、公園與朋友一起踢足球,我認為是理所當然的事情。不管怎樣,無論是個人或職業足球都已成為我生命上的重要一環。坦白說,多年後足球竟然發展成一個愛與恨的關係,似乎有點不合邏輯,請容我詳細解釋。

以下是本人愛上足球的原因:
  • 容易上手:足球運動其中一項最大的優點是其簡易性,你可以花上數小時自娛自樂,例如不停將皮球踢向牆上。整個過程毋須添置太多設備,而且條例簡單易明,只需掌握足球的基本技術及如何比賽經已足夠。一個足球和一小片空間,大家便可以進行比賽,就是這麼簡單!
  • 簡易性隱藏著複雜和技巧:幾乎每個人都能夠踢足球,然而並非每個人,以及每一支球隊能夠踢得出色。我愛上它的理由是:要踢得出類拔萃,必須同時揉合先天潛能以及後天努力。當觀看一些世界級球員或球隊比賽時,仿如欣賞著動感的詩篇般精彩,因此才稱得上「漂亮足球」,尤其遇上一些世間罕有的天才球員展示其上乘的足球技術時總會激動人心!當足球天分、戰術和技巧罕有地混合在一起時,能夠親身目睹自然是一樁美事。頂級球員和球會的表現看似得心應手,但其實大家心知肚明,這絕對不是一件易事,就算是一般球員亦難以做到! 
  • 全球性:本人在其他運動方面也是一名狂然的追隨者,板球和橄欖球亦是本人眾多的愛好之一,然而我不能將它們定位為全球化運動。毫無疑問,足球是一項隊際的運動,分布在全球每一個角落。誠然,基於足球的簡易性,幫助它主導了全球市場,我們不能低估這個擁有全球最大影響力的運動,全因它具有助人向善的潛能,運用足球的影響力以締造和諧善意的氛圍。
  • 對你和社會都有裨益:足球競技能夠促進個人的身心發展,如果適得其所的話,足球訓練和參加比賽會令你變得身體強壯、強身健體、身手敏捷以及動作靈活。同時,它能夠為你的骨骼和循環系統帶來健康發展,紓緩緊張。體育活動亦能加強認知表現,對你的大腦發展大有裨益。因此,一個開心、健康及積極的活動人口對整個社會都有良好的影響。
  • 成為球隊的一員:作為一名老將,本人在年屆四十左右便決定結束球員生涯。身體狀況本叫我得更早退下來,但我則喜歡作為球隊的一部分和珍惜隊友間的友情。在球賽開始前,你不能遏止腎上腺素急升,而我在不同運動上卻不會有相似感覺。無論你是一名球員或球迷,追隨球隊能夠將大家匯聚在一起,友情透過球隊的蔓延將持久不衰!
  • 足球能夠比喻人生:假若你能夠正確地學習及掌握足球技術,它會教曉你很多人生哲理—如何謙遜地取勝、如何大方地認輸等。此外,足球亦會教導一些團隊合作的好處以及直接的努力與回報關係。同樣地,你亦會掌握如何克服逆境以及尊重他人之道。
這就是我愛上足球的理由,但最重要的是它帶來了固有的歡樂和刺激,體現了運動的重要元素—兩支球隊在良性競爭的情況下,用盡全力爭奪錦標! 
 
足球總能夠為大家帶來球場內外非一般的精彩體驗;不幸的是,它並非只限於此!
以下是本人厭惡足球的原因: 
  • 商品化:足球時常被一些無情的人士利用,視它作為一種「工具」來賺錢。本人估計這種情況與其他行業無異;然而,當球員、球迷或其他人士被「剝削」時,我將會為此劃清界線。
  • 貪婪:它可以應用於電視機構、管治團體、代理公司、球員以至足球總會等。足球可以用來謀取更多的金錢利益,但僅限於小部分的地方身上。某些人難以抗拒金錢的誘惑而將所得利益據為己有,也不情願將有限的資源拿出來公平地分攤。 
  • 貪污:某些官員濫用職權,透過不同方式非法操控賽事,從而謀取私利。這些不法之徒的存在,徹底摧毀了足球的靈魂!
  • 欺詐:本人絕不能容忍欺詐行為。欺詐是可以透過不同形式出現,不論是球場上有不合參賽資格的球員、濫用藥物以催谷比賽狀態、非法操控賽事以至在禁區內「插水」等。最近,其中一種欺詐行為令我勃然大怒,有球員在賽事臨近完結前假扮受傷,意圖浪費時間,因此我提早離場,實在厭惡這類球員的惡行。難道他們沒有羞恥之心?每一個人都知道他們 招搖撞騙的技倆,但對於本人而言,更甚的是他們似乎未有意識到自己的差勁表現,亦不會因此而感到自豪。當教練時常鼓吹或默許球員作出這類行為時,情況將會變得愈加嚴重,足以令我氣血上升。有些人會告訴我去作出「妥協」或「將它視為比賽的一部分」。實際上我未能做到,「詐傷」絕對是不君子行為以及違背體育精神的原意。 
  • 足球流氓:多年來,足球流氓對其他球迷以及財產的攻擊,令足球運動蒙上污點!本人曾有數次感到劫後餘生的經歷,最令我印象深刻的是一九九七年在羅馬觀看英格蘭國家隊對陣意大利國家隊的世界盃外圍賽(有關片段可在youtube中查找),我是其中一名倖存者,得以在這裡講述悲慘的往事!不幸的是,現實上仍有不少恐怖分子以足球為借口,不斷製造襲擊事件。
  • 歧視:某程度上足球可以將人類聯繫在一起,同時亦可以分化他們。足球可以劃分為多個「部落」,因此有時會導致偏見的情況發生。我們必須明確分辨「競爭對立」和「公然敵意」的行為。本人不幸目睹在球場上發生的骯髒事件,包括因一些對球隊忠誠、膚色、種族、年齡、性別、意向等因素而向對方作出一些可恥以及不可原諒的人身攻擊行為。基於某種原因,你不會將這些不必要的人身攻擊行為,赤裸裸侵略在其他運動上。  
  • 令一些人士變得更糟: 在一般情況下,足球帶來正面的影響,但有時亦會牽引出一連串負面的人性特質,包括仇恨、傲慢、無禮及暴力傾向,而且已經滲入到球場內外。舉個例,蘇亞雷斯的「咬人」事件,反映他似乎難以自控地向對方球員作出咬人的行為;而另一個令我非常懊惱的是一些所謂「球迷」在球場外相互指罵對方的職球員,來本人曾經在一場少年賽事中親身目睹雙方家長激烈爭吵,真是信不信由你!
毫無疑問,足球全球化所帶來的影響深遠,它將會繼續突顯每一個人的真實性格,無論是好與壞。因此本人猜想自己與足球的愛恨關係將會持續下去(皆因經歷了多年的風風雨雨,實在難以割捨),有時足球會令人情緒高漲、手舞足蹈,有時又會將人打入痛苦的深淵,混雜著失望、沮喪、失落的心情。本人由衷希望我的心臟能夠承受這種情緒反差極大的狀況,畢竟足球正是影響心臟負載能力的「元凶」之一。
 
本人慶幸自己都夠從事這門行業,全情投入跨越重重障礙之餘,更可將志同道合者匯聚在一起。倘若每一位涉及足球事業不同領域的人士,都能夠加倍努力消除負面氛圍,相信「漂亮足球」將會復見。總括而言,本人仍然深信世界始終存在著美好的一面。
 
薜基輔
二○一四年十一月 

Saturday 8 November 2014

Project Phoenix comes to an end 「鳳凰計劃」宣告終結

Project Phoenix comes to an end


It seems like CEO blogs are like buses; you wait for ages for one to come along and then two come together!

 
Project Phoenix is officially finished. The three-year Government funded project to revitalize football in Hong Kong ran from November 2011 until October 2014. I am sure that people will have different opinions on how effective it has been. All I can say from my perspective is that I am now leading a very different organization to the one I joined just over two years ago. From inside the organization the contrast is quite striking. I understand that much of this may not be immediately apparent to people outside the organisation. The point is that we are now better equipped and resourced to govern, organise and manage football in Hong Kong. Of the 33 recommendations in Project Phoenix, the vast majority have been fully implemented. Most of the others are either work in progress or by their nature, will always remain on-going. I recently presented a detailed review of the project to the Government’s Football Task Force and they declared themselves ‘satisfied’ with progress. Apparently ‘satisfied’ in Government-speak is high praise indeed!

Change is never easy and I would like to have made more progress in some areas. For example, the lack of progress on the much-needed Football Training Centre is a big disappointment but that is not something that the HKFA can do without the support of other stakeholders.

The foundations we have put in place over the last few years are starting to yield results and 2014 has been a momentous year for the HKFA for many reasons, not least the fact that it is the Centenary of its founding in 1914. It is fitting therefore that this year has been characterized by development and achievement in every aspect of the organization and the work that it does both on and off the pitch. This could not have happened without coordinated, sustained hard work by the Board, the Secretariat and our many partners.

  • It is difficult to summarise what has been an industrious and successful year but some of the main highlights include:
Completing the implementation of Project Phoenix and getting recognition from the HKSAR Government and other partners that the initiative has been responsible for building the foundations for the long term transformation of football in Hong Kong
  • Preparing a new Five-year Strategic Plan (Aiming High – Together) and using it as the catalyst for a new five-year funding agreement with the Government which should complete the transformation process
  • Establishing the new BOCG Life Hong Kong Premier League based on a Club Licence system with:
  1. New Title sponsor
  2. New brand, logo and corporate identity
  3. 4 x increase in Prize money
  4.   ‘Solidarity’ fund for poorer clubs
  5. Pre-season Player Seminar
  6. Appointment of Sportradar to provide Fraud Prevention and Detection Services
  7. New Broadcast deal
  • Taking a firm stand on and playing the lead role in protecting the integrity of football in Hong Kong
  • Significantly expanding our football development activities and programmes resulting in more people playing football, more often and at a higher standard
  • A particular focus on increasing the number of player opportunities in grass roots football, youth development and girls and women’s football
  • A 434% increase in Coach Education courses
  • The recruitment, training and assessment of additional referees and the creation of a Young Referees Academy
  • One of our teams (South China) playing in the AFC Champions League Play-offs for the first time ever
  • One of our teams (Kitchee) being very successful in the AFC Cup (semi-finalists)
  • Our U16 team qualifying for the first time ever for the U16 AFC Regional Finals
  • The Senior men’s team progressing to the R16 in the Asian Games
  • The organization of significantly more events and competitions including a friendly match against Argentina, 2014 World Cup Runners up
  • Introduction of new Futsal Competition in Schools
  • Actively participating in a number of AFC/FIFA initiatives including:
  1. FIFA Goal Programme
  2. FIFA Pitch Improvement Programme
  3. FIFA Performance Programme
  4. FIFA Connect Programme
  5. AFC Kick Off Programme
  • Implementing a number of corporate initiatives designed to make the organization more effective, efficient and economic including:
  1. Office Refurbishment
  2. Review of Corporate Governance
  3. Risk Assessment
  4. New Internal Audit Committee
  5. Working on new integrated IT system
  6. Performance Appraisal system
  • Hosted FIFA/AFC Regional Seminar and Centennial Dinner
  • Enhanced Marketing and Promotion which has raised our profile and enhanced our reputation. A survey is being undertaken at Premier League matches which will be used to further focus our efforts on customer service  


In my opinion these are tangible indicators that things are moving in the right direction. I don’t think many of them would have happened without Project Phoenix. We are proud of what we have achieved so far - but we will not rest on our laurels. We understand that the world of football is forever changing and that the HKFA needs to continuously improve. We are determined to build on our recent successes, to strive for excellence in all we do and to use our new Strategic Plan to ‘Aim High’, and build on the success of Project Phoenix, may it rest in peace!
 
Mark Sutcliffe November 2014
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「鳳凰計劃」宣告終結


本人的CEO 網誌如同等巴士一樣,有時需要長時間守候一班車的到來,偶爾也會出現兩車呼嘯而至的情景!

一個以振興本港足球發展為目標、由二○一一年十一月開始至二○一四年十月結束、為期三年的政府資助計劃—「鳳凰計劃」終於功成身退!本人明白到不同人士對其成效持有不同觀點,就我個人觀點而言,我現時正帶領著一間與兩年前本人入職時截然不同的機構邁步前進!從足總內部看占這些變化是明顯的,本人深明機構以外的人難以即時察覺這些不顯眼的改動;然而,就是這些不露痕跡的轉變,令足總變得更加有效率地管治、組織和管理香港足球發展。在「鳳凰計劃」的三十三個建議改革方案中,大部分目標經已圓滿達標,而尚餘部分或在進行中、或根據其性質仍在發展。最近,本人已將計劃的檢討報告呈交予政府的足球專責小組,而成員亦表示「滿意」計劃的成效,由此看出政府對該計劃給予了高度讚揚!

改變從來不是一件容易的事情,本人在某些地方曾經努力尋求突破。舉個例,需求殷切的足球訓練中心始終寸步難移,固然令人失望,但缺乏其他業界人士的支持,足總不能單憑一己之力,便能將一切否極泰來。

在過去數年間,我們積極打好根基,為一切作好準備,如今已開始步入收成期。對於足總而言,二○一四是意義非凡的一年,特別是足總成立一百週年的大日子。由一九一四年成立至今,足總在各項領域不斷發展和進步,無論場內場外都要做到盡善盡美。在董事局成員、秘書處以及眾多合作夥伴的辛勤付出和緊密合作的共同努力下,才能取得今天豐碩的成果。

在過去艱辛歲月所作出的努力和貢獻,在此難以細表,然而部分重點亦可和大家分享,包括:
  • 貫徹執行「鳳凰計劃」的倡議方案並取得香港特區政府和其他相關人士的認可,深明所採取的方案是為香港足球事業的長遠發展奠定穩固根基。
  • 制訂新的五年策略計劃書《力爭上游 萬眾一心》(中文譯名),作為足總與香港特區政府達成新的五年資助計劃協議的催化劑,以達成改革進程。
  • 在落實球會牌照制度下,成立首屆中銀集團人壽香港超級聯賽,包括:
  1. 新的聯賽冠名贊助商
  2. 一個全新的品牌、聯賽形象、商標
  3. 比賽獎金升幅高達四倍
  4. 「種子」基金以幫助較貧乏的球會
  5. 季前球員講座
  6. 委託Sportradar為本土賽事提供「反欺詐系統和偵測服務」
  7. 新的電視轉播協議
  • 恪守捍衛香港足球運動的廉潔形象,體現足球賽事的專業精神。
  • 積極增加更多足球發展活動計劃,務求讓更多人享受足球樂趣,能夠經常參與以達致更高水平
  • 特別重視草根足球、青少年發展以及女子足球項目,提供更多機會讓年青人參與
  • 教練培訓課程激增了434%
  • 為更多裁判員提供專業培訓及評估工作,並成立青年裁判訓練課程
  • 本地球會(南華) 歷史性獲得亞洲聯賽冠軍附加賽參賽資格
  • 本地球會(傑志)2014年亞協盃中戰績彪炳(晉身四強)
  • 香港十六歲以下代表隊歷史性打入亞洲足協U16決賽週
  • 香港男子代表隊成功晉身仁川亞運足球項目的十六強賽事
  • 舉辦更多的活動和比賽,包括與二一四年世界盃亞軍阿根廷進行友誼賽
  • 引入全新的學界五人足球賽事
  • 積極參與不同類型的國際足協/亞洲足協計劃,包括:
  1. 國際足協「Goal」計劃
  2. 國際足協「草地改善」計劃
  3. 國際足協「Performance」項目
  4. 國際足協「Connect」項目
  5. 亞洲足協「Kick Off」項目
  • 執行多項機構管治的相關措施,務求提升足總的架構管治和財務管理能力,其中包括:
  1. 大樓翻新工程
  2. 機構管治檢討工作
  3. 危機評估
  4. 成立全新的內部審核委員會
  5. 整合新的資訊科技系統
  6. 表現評估系統
  • 舉辦「國際足協/亞洲足協地區性專題研討會 以及足總百週年晚宴
  • 加強市場宣傳和推廣工作,務求提升足總信譽和形象。同時,在本球季的香港超級聯賽賽事中進行問卷調查,進一步加強和迎合球迷的訴求!  

依我看來,上述一些有形的指標引證了一切皆在正確的方向前進。倘若在沒有「鳳凰計劃」的支持下,我深信大部分目標都不會實踐,因此我們對於目前所取得的成就而深感自豪,但我們不能永遠滿足於眼前的成績。足總深深明白全球足壇將會不停變革,而我們亦需要持續改善。足總決定將在我們最近所獲得的成果繼續追求卓越,透過全新策劃方案來「力爭上游」,讓「鳳凰計劃」所付出的心血不致付諸東流!


薜基輔
二○一四年十一月
 

Thursday 6 November 2014

FIFA Rankings – How much notice should we take?

FIFA Rankings – How much notice should we take?

Sorry there has been no blog for a while. My only excuse is that it has been a very busy period. In the last few months we have played a number of international matches, had a Centenary Dinner, submitted a funding application to LCSD, reviewed Project Phoenix with the Football Task Force, held a FIFA workshop on facility development, updated the Strategic Plan, started the Premier League not to mention many managerial tasks such as the annual Appraisal process, an internal risk assessment etc. I’m not asking for sympathy, I have an enjoyable and challenging job, it’s just that my blog hasn’t got to the top of my ‘to do’ list, until now that is. I will try and do better from now on.



FIFA Rankings
A recent article in the SCMP had the following headline; “Lift your game to justify $100m-plus funding Hong Kong Soccer told”. It went on to state that “the men’s soccer side must improve their world rankings or else the financial lifeline may close”. Firstly I would like to point out that this statement and the inference are both incorrect.

As mentioned above we have been reviewing Project Phoenix with the Government and looking ahead to the delivery of the new Strategic Plan, Aiming High – Together. This has been a very positive process. The truth is that the Government’s Football Task Force recognizes the good work that is being done by the HKFA, and that further progress can be made with additional investment based on the new Strategic Plan (which incidentally the AFC has described as ‘logical, comprehensive and coherent’). Government funding has been agreed but I cannot reveal the actual amount until it has been officially announced. Suffice to say it is more than we have been receiving under the Project Phoenix banner and for a longer period of time (5 years not 3). This is good news for football and demonstrates a solid relationship between the HKFA and the Government and not a ‘carrot and stick’ approach as implied in the SCMP article. Still I suppose as the saying goes….never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

For the avoidance of doubt, throughout the process of negotiating future funding we have never been told to ‘lift our game’ or that we needed to ‘rise up the rankings’ or that ‘the pipeline could be closed’ based on rankings. So for the record, the funding is NOT linked to the performance of the representative team as set out in the FIFA ranking. I hope that point is now abundantly clear. Future funding will be subject to a formal agreement between the HKFA and the Government and as you would expect there are a number of key performance indicators related to the delivery of the strategy that will be regularly reviewed. We accept and agree that the use of public money must be subject to scrutiny. We also understand that funding might be reduced if we do not deliver. However for very good reasons the FIFA rankings are not Performance Indicators within the agreement, they are referred to as ‘benchmarks’ and targets only. This is because it is made clear in the strategic plan that improvement in the rankings is dependent upon many things that are outside of the control of the HKFA, including the provision of better and additional pitches, the investment made by other countries etc.

It is also because, bizarre as it sounds, the FIFA rankings are not actually a very reliable indicator of performance. This may sound like an excuse, so let me explain how the ranking system works. Bear with me, it’s quite complicated.

A team’s total number of points is calculated over a four-year period and is determined by adding:
  • The average number of points gained from matches during the past 12 months; and
  • The average number of points gained from matches older than 12 months (depreciates yearly).

Calculation of points for a single match

The number of points that can be won in a match depends on the following factors:
  • Was the match won or drawn? (M)
  • How important was the match (ranging from a friendly match to a FIFA World Cup™ match)? (I)
  • How strong was the opposing team in terms of ranking position and the confederation to which they belong? (T and C)

These factors are brought together in the following formula to ascertain the total number of points (P):

P = M x I x T x C

The following criteria apply to the calculation of points:

M: Points for match result: Teams gain 3 points for a victory, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a defeat. In a penalty shoot-out, the winning team gains 2 points and the losing team gains 1 point.

I: Importance of match: Friendly match (including small competitions): I = 1.0. FIFA World Cup™ qualifier or confederation-level qualifier: I = 2.5. Confederation-level final competition or FIFA Confederations Cup: I = 3.0. FIFA World Cup™ final competition: I = 4.0

T: Strength of opposing team: The strength of the opponents is based on the formula: 200 – the ranking position of the opponents. As an exception to this formula, the team at the top of the ranking is always assigned the value 200 and the teams ranked 150th and below are assigned a minimum value of 50. The ranking position is taken from the opponents’ ranking in the most recently published FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.

C: Strength of confederation: When calculating matches between teams from different confederations, the mean value of the confederations to which the two competing teams belong is used. The strength of a confederation is calculated on the basis of the number of victories by that confederation at the last three FIFA World Cup™ competitions.

Their current values are as follows: CONMEBOL 1.00. UEFA 0.99. AFC/CAF/OFC/CONCACAF 0.85



Hong Kong’s current ranking is 163 because we have 109 points based on the above scoring criteria and the results of matches over the last four years. This is set out below:

0.2 time frame



17-Nov-2010
 

PAR

0

Friendly

09-Feb-2011

MAS

0

Friendly

03-Jun-2011

MAS

49.02

Friendly

23-Jul-2011

KSA

0

FIFA World Cup Qualifier

28-Jul-2011

KSA

0

FIFA World Cup Qualifier

30-Sep-2011

PHI

43

Friendly

02-Oct-2011

MAC

129

Friendly

04-Oct-2011

TPE

129

Friendly

350.02 points from 8 matches, an average of 43.7525, multiplied by 0.2 = 8.7505

0.3 time frame



29-Feb-2012

TPE

129

Friendly

01-Jun-2012

SIN

129

Friendly

10-Jun-2012

VIE

0

Friendly

15-Aug-2012

SIN

0

Friendly

16-Oct-2012

MAS

0

Friendly

258 points, 5 games, 51.6 average, multiplied by 0.3 = 15.48

0.5 time frame



14-Nov-2012

MAS

43

Friendly

01-Dec-2012

GUM

129

Friendly

03-Dec-2012

AUS

0

Friendly

07-Dec-2012

TPE

129

Friendly

09-Dec-2012

PRK

0

Friendly

06-Feb-2013

UZB

310

Continental Qualifier

22-Mar-2013

VIE

457.95

Continental Qualifier

04-Jun-2013

PHI

0

Friendly

10-Sep-2013

SIN

129

Friendly

15-Oct-2013

UAE

0

Continental Qualifier

1197.55 points, 10 games, 119.755 average, multiplied by 0.5 = 59.8775

1.0 time frame



15-Nov-2013

UAE

0

Continental Qualifier

19-Nov-2013

UZB

0

Continental Qualifier

05-Mar-2014

VIE

0

Continental Qualifier

06-Sep-2014

VIE

0

Friendly

09-Sep-2014

SIN

42.5

Friendly

10-Oct-2014

SIN

130.05

Friendly

14-Oct-2014

ARG

0

Friendly

172.55 points, 7 games, 24.65 average, multiplied by 1 = 24.65
 
Adding it up: 8.7505 + 15.48 + 59.8775 + 24.65 = 108.758, rounded up to 109.

Discussion

After the SCMP article was published I received an email from a gentleman called Eduard Ranghiuc (a Romanian computer programmer) who specializes in advising Football Associations on how to develop strategies to increase their FIFA rankings. He provided some of the information above, so thank you Eduard. You can check him out here;  http://www.football-rankings.info/2014/08/signed-on-as-fifa-ranking-consultant.html The mere fact that there is a market for this type of service illustrates that the FIFA rankings are as much about mathematics as they are about how good you are at football. I exchanged a number of emails with Eduard and he seems like a very genuine and interesting guy. I am sure he is good at what he does and I’m sure if we followed his advice our ranking would improve.

For example, he told me that we should not have played friendly matches recently against Singapore and Argentina and that instead we should have played two games against Aruba. They are currently ranked 129 and two wins against them would have increased our 1.0 timeframe average from 24.65 to 57.8. As a result our points would have risen from 109 to 142 and we would have improved 10 places in the rankings. As easy as that! My point is that as a Football Association we have to take into account many factors when deciding how many matches to play and against which teams. I am not convinced that Aruba would have been a good choice for our Centenary match!

According to Eduard the top 10 teams to play against to improve our rankings would have been:
 
Aruba
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Antigua and Barbuda
St. Lucia
Dominican Republic
St. Kitts and Nevis
Sierra Leone
Botswana
Luxembourg
Afghanistan

Equally I’m not convinced (given what is happening in West Africa right now) that our players would have been too keen to play against Sierra Leone.

Of course it is all hypothetical and if we had beaten Argentina our ranking would have gone up to 142!

I can understand why some people will look at the rankings and use them to judge our progress. Hopefully the examples above will demonstrate why they should be viewed with caution. There are some other factors to bear in mind too.
  • The rankings take into account matches played four years ago. In that time Project Phoenix has come and gone. I understand why FIFA want to look this far back because it is about consistency but should we be judged partially on what happened before our project started? 
  • The number of points you get for playing in a competitive tournament are worth a lot more than points earned in friendlies, that is understandable and yet it is outside our control as to when competitive tournaments come around and who we are drawn against. This means that to some extent the ranking position becomes cyclical and based on the luck of the draw.
  • I’ve always found it strange that the points gained take no notice of whether the match is home or away. It’s already a complicated formula so I assume FIFA decided not to bother with that important variable.
  • Because the rankings are based on the average number of points, a good strategy to improving your ranking would be to play a relatively few number of matches against teams you know you can beat (and get them to come to your place) and then rest on your laurels. However that strategy means fewer opportunities for players to gain experience, not to mention fewer opportunities for fans the media and sponsors. It also means that you would never pit yourself against stronger opponents.
  • We recently played a competitive home match against Uzbekistan. After 80 minutes the score was 0-0. We ended up losing that match and therefore got no points and our average suffered too. Had we held out for another 10 minutes we would have got 310 points and our ranking would have risen by 8 places. You are not telling me that that 10 minutes of football made us a better or worse team and yet that is what the rankings would have said.
  • You get more points playing against teams from different Confederations. As a result of the failure of any of the Asian teams to win at the recent World Cup the difference is due to increase for countries in Asia. Furthermore, for financial reasons it is not always easy to play matches against teams from other continents and so again for no fault of our own, it will be more difficult in the future for us to gain ranking points.

It all goes to show that the rankings should not be taken too literally because there are so many factors at play. Eduard sent me a link which illustrates ‘how to play the FIFA rankings game’.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25134584 or to put it another way, the FIFA rankings only ‘broadly’ reflect how good you are. As the saying goes, there are lies, damned lies and statistics.


So it is possible to adopt a strategy where the FIFA rankings are a priority but to me that could conflict with football development objectives. At our stage in the development cycle, we want to play matches to enable our players to gain experience of international football. We want the flexibility to ‘blood’ new young players or to try new styles and systems. We want to improve by playing against better teams, like Argentina. If we obsess about the FIFA rankings our strategy would be completely different. I like to think that our strategy is more enlightened than simply chasing ranking points. Over time if we use the new investment wisely to develop better players and give them opportunities to play, the quality of our football will improve. Eventually, this will be reflected in the rankings because we will qualify for tournament finals where the accumulation of points is exponential. The important point is that this won’t happen overnight and if money was taken away from us simply based on rankings it would be counterproductive. Once football in Hong Kong is more mature, we might want to review our strategy regarding the FIFA rankings.

Conclusion

I hope I have demonstrated why the FIFA Rankings should be seen as a target of progress and not a stick with which to beat the HKFA. If we wanted to we could have a strategy that was solely based on attaining a higher ranking. Indeed for some countries this is the priority. They will choose opponents that give them the best chance of gaining ranking points. But would we have been thanked for playing our Centenary match against Aruba? In playing against Argentina, we lost one ranking position rather than potentially gaining 10. Would it be fair to reduce our funding because of this? And would it be reasonable to reduce our funding in March 2015 when the value of the points secured against Vietnam two years previously will diminish? Personally I don’t think so. We all want to see Hong Kong’s position change for the better and I am confident that over time it will, but in the short term we should not get fixated with the FIFA rankings but rather we should see them for what they are, a benchmark of relative quality.

Thankfully (and contrary to the assumption of the SCMP), the Government appreciates that the ranking system is somewhat arbitrary and has not included the FIFA ranking as a performance indicator that could result in financial penalty if not attained. I, like them am content that we will be judged on more measurable, objective and more meaningful targets such as the number of people playing football, the effectiveness of grass roots football programmes, the number of qualified coaches and referees, the number of spectators at Premier League fixtures, the amount of sponsorship generated etc.

Mark Sutcliffe November 2014  

Note: The Chinese version will be released soon