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The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, today (May 31) said the Government would allocate additional resources to support the development of elite sport in Hong Kong. The resources, together with the planned re-development of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) will offer concrete assistance to our top athletes and encourage them to achieve better results.
While attending the "soft" opening of the HKSI, Mr Tsang said that the 2010-11 Budget had proposed to inject $3 billion into the Arts and Sport Development Fund as seed money. The annual investment return of the Fund will be used to strengthen existing support for sport, including funding athletes' preparation for and participation in major international sports events, and providing more resources to various sports including team sports.
"We have increased our support to the HKSI in 2009/10, by allocating an extra $40 million to sponsor athletes directly, a further $4.4 million on top of this recurrent amount to strengthen the training of our elite athletes, and an additional $3.4 million to train young athletes, particularly to help them to prepare for the Youth Olympics in Singapore this coming August," he said.
To help athletes perform at their best at the 16th Guangzhou Asian Games in November, the Government has also allocated some $17 million to facilitate their preparation.
"I hope that this increased support will not only provide concrete assistance to our athletes, but also encourage them to achieve better results in games," said Mr Tsang.
"I firmly believe that with the new facilities at the HKSI, new resources and new plans, elite sport in Hong Kong will make further breakthroughs," he added.
Ends/Monday, May 31, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:24
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