Speech by SCST at Hong Kong Football Festival 2025 Press Conference
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, at the Hong Kong Football Festival 2025 Press Conference today (March 31):
Miss Rachel Carroll (Managing Director of TEG Sport), Mr Pui Kwan-kay (President of the Football Association of Hong Kong, China), media friends, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. First of all, I hope you have recovered from the excitement, and I actually mean hangover, of Hong Kong Rugby Sevens already. And more importantly, I hope you are as excited as I am in joining this press conference to announce the big event this coming summer: Hong Kong Football Festival 2025 to be held in our new Kai Tak Sports Park, Kai Tak Stadium. Four top international football teams will be playing in two matches in the last week of July. And you heard the details from Carroll just now.
There is indeed no better way of concluding our Super March with the announcement of yet another set of mega sports events. While we may still be overwhelmed by the joy and atmosphere of the Hong Kong Sevens or are still savouring the series of arts and cultural offerings in March, Hong Kong is in fact all set to welcome Liverpool, AC Milan, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to Hong Kong. I did promise you that the mega event calendar in Hong Kong will continue to be filled by highly anticipated events, and that I will be personally announcing our major international football matches with a big grin on my face, so here you go!
Hong Kong Football Festival 2025 represents so much more than two football matches. It is a celebration of Hong Kong and Asia's longstanding passion for football, one of the most powerful sports in captivating audiences from around the world.
Another milestone meaning for these two matches is of course that they will be the first international football club matches to be staged at our world-class new stadium at Kai Tak Sports Park.
My special thanks go to our special guests - the legendary players from all four teams. They have come all the way to share our excitement. I can already feel that the "football temperature" is rising in Hong Kong. And I am sure that the adrenaline of our football fans is pumping up fast.
Before I close, I would like to thank TEG Sport for bringing to us this wonderful football festival. Let's work together to make this event a great success! And I look forward to seeing you all at Kai Tak Stadium in end-July.
Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million
Hong Kong Customs detected two dangerous drugs cases in Tseung Kwan O and Hong Kong International Airport respectively yesterday (May 21) and today (May 22), and seized a total of about 21.8 kilograms of assorted drugs with a total estimated market value of about $7.95 million. Two men and one woman, aged between 38 and 49, were arrested.
In the first case, Customs officers intercepted a 48-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman in Tseung Kwan O during an anti-narcotics operation yesterday afternoon. About 3.8kg of suspected drugs, including ketamine, methamphetamine, etomidate capsules, psilocybin mushrooms, MDMA and a batch of suspected drug packaging paraphernalia were found in their residence in the same district. They were then arrested.
In the second case, a 38-year-old male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, today. During customs clearance, Customs officers found about 18kg of suspected ketamine inside his check-in suitcase and 33 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarette inside his carry-on baggage. The man was subsequently arrested.
The arrested man and woman in the first case have been jointly charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and one count of possession of apparatus fit and intended for the inhalation of a dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (May 23), while an investigation is ongoing for the second case.
Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.
Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
