Macau football team likely to miss HK friendly match

The Macau Football Association (MFA) has recommended the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) postpone the upcoming annual Hong Kong-Macau Regional Friendly, local online media outlet Macau Concealers reported.

The report came after Hong Kong’s Ming Pao Daily newspaper published the news. There has been speculation that the decision was made due to the current political situation in Hong Kong.

The MFA rejected the speculation by offering several other justifications, which were subsequently found to be false or dubious.

According to the Hong Kong newspaper’s report, the HKFA confirmed that it had received the suggestion from the Macau side. However, the HKFA is still determining whether postponing the game is possible, as further negotiation with its Macau counterpart is necessary. In addition, the Hong Kong pitch’s schedule is quite full, making any postponement inconvenient.

On September 25, the Macau FA replied to an inquiry by Radio Macau, saying that there was a schedule clash on October 12, the original date for the match.

Macau Concealers then made another inquiry. The MFA told the media that due to the ongoing local matches, it was worried that the regional friendly match could not be played. Therefore, the MFA considered postponing.

As for what matches had been scheduled on that date, the MFA told the online media outlet to check the MFA website. The outlet found no scheduled match on the date, however.

Pressed for an explanation, the MFA informed Macau Concealers that even if there was no match on that date, the MFA might not send a team to Hong Kong. The players, the MFA explained, needed time to prepare for the match.

However, when asked how much time the players needed to prepare, the MFA refused to give an answer. It also reiterated that the decision had been made by other parties. The MFA stressed that it would have been delighted to send a team for the match.

On June 11, the Macau football team was absent from a World Cup Qualifier match in Sri Lanka. The MFA refused to send a team to the South Asian country, citing “security concerns” following a series of terror attacks in the two months prior.

At the time, the regional football governing body, the AFC, had emphasized the viability of the security plans submitted by Sri Lankan authorities. The Macau FA’s Sri Lankan counterpart also promised to guarantee the team’s safety. Macau was later assigned a 3-0 defeat for missing the match.

Earlier this month, the Iran national team also requested that their match with Hong Kong be moved to neutral ground, citing “safety concerns.”

The AFC decided on a no-change and the Iranian team appeared as arranged, winning the game 2-0. AL