Here’s the press release in full, with the amount of corporate sponsorship $ swilling around the SAR and the high profile of the event. The late cancellation and reason hint that the press release is perhaps not the complete story. The Sixes have grown to become a fun high profile event, lets hope it returns in 2014.
PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hong Kong Cricket Sixes cancelled for 2013
[Hong Kong, September 11, 2013]: The Hong Kong Cricket Association
(HKCA) today announced “with great regret” the cancellation of the
Hong Kong Cricket Sixes for 2013.
While the HKCA had examined various options to possibly scale back the
tournament in 2013, it was decided that the established history and
tradition of the Sixes remained the paramount concern.
HKCA remains committed to hosting the Cricket Sixes on an annual basis
and are hopeful that the event can return to the local and
international sporting calendar in 2014.
The Association cited a variety of reasons for the decision not to
proceed with the event this October, but the primary concern was the
difficulty in securing sufficient government funding and private
sector backing in the difficult economic climate.
HKCA Executive Committee released their comment on the announcement saying:
We apologise to the many local cricket fans and our many long-serving
corporate supporters for whom this weekend has been a highlight of the
local calendar for many years, but it was decided by the Executive
Committee that it would be better to cancel rather than leave the
association open to a potentially significant financial loss.
The rejection of the HKCA’s request for Hong Kong SAR Government
funding through the Mega Events Fund was a significant blow to the
Association’s plans to mount the tournament and made finding a
corporate underwriter for the tournament a significantly more
expensive proposition in 2013 with the resulting shortened timeframe
to find a title sponsor further exacerbating matters.
HKCA understands the need to approach government, corporates and the
international cricket boards as early as possible and so will very
shortly start work on the 2014 event and will make every effort to
return the Sixes to its rightful place in the International Calendar
next year.
With Hong Kong being the 20th ranked team in world cricket and
considering the Sixes’ unique history and role as the showcase event
for cricket in China and north Asia, we are still struggling to
understand why we were rejected. But we remain thankful for the strong
support we have received in years past from Government bodies like the
Major Sports Executive Committee, LCSD, Home Affairs Bureau and the
Hong Kong Police.
We will make a further approach to the Mega Events Fund for next year
as we believe that the potential of the Cricket Sixes to enhance Hong
Kong’s position as a premier international sporting and tourism
destination remains as strong as ever.
The Association will stay in close contact with the many existing
corporate partners as well as the numerous companies who expressed
interest in supporting the tournament this year to manage their
expectations and rekindle their excitement for a bigger and better
tournament in 2014.
About the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes
Organized by the Hong Kong Cricket Association since 1992, the Hong
Kong Cricket Sixes is the only international cricket event held in
Hong Kong and is fully sanctioned by the world’s governing body for
cricket, the International Cricket Council.
The tournament has been broadcast live since 2008 and in 2012 reached
over 127 million households on the Indian subcontinent, across
Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and South Africa, as well
as being packaged for distribution in North America, the United
Kingdom, Europe and China.
ENDS
