Hong Kong’s new sports chief to review elite athlete grants, lead reform of governing bodies
George Tsoi, a civil servant with 10 years’ experience, is the city’s third commissioner for sports in the past 13 months
Hong Kong’s new commissioner for sports is a civil servant with a background in finance, who will be tasked with reviewing the city’s elite athletes’ support scheme, reforming national sports associations and overseeing the opening of Kai Tak Sports Park next year.
George Tsoi Kin-pan, who was previously a principal assistant secretary at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), was appointed just weeks after the sudden departure of his predecessor Sam Wong Tak-sum, who left the role little more than a year into a three-year contract.
Tsoi, who majored in finance at the University of Hong Kong, joined the government and served as assistant district officer of Yuen Long from 2010 to 2013; he also worked as an assistant commissioner for tourism at the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau.
He furthered his study attending executive courses at Tsinghua and London School of Economics and Political Science, graduating in 2011 and 2012 respectively, before enrolling at Stanford’s MSx programme, a one-year master’s programme in management in 2022. He joined the CSTB when he graduated a year later.
“One goal I hope to achieve through my time at Stanford GSB is to see the world from more diverse perspectives and transform myself into a more competent leader,” Tsoi wrote on the university’s website when sharing his goals at Stanford.
Tsoi is the third commissioner for sports in little more than 18 months. Yeung Tak-keung, was the first person to hold the role, from 2016 to 2022. He now leads the National Games Coordination Office, and said people should not assume that civil servants do not understand sport.
