The government is to withhold a NT$3 million (US$91,274) payment to soccer governing body the CTFA after the New Zealand women’s national team called off two matches against Taiwan due to concerns over the condition of the pitch, a sports official said on Wednesday.
A behind-closed-doors training game set to be played on Saturday and a full international friendly match scheduled for Tuesday at Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium were called off.
Following the cancelation, Sports Administration Director-General Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) said during a legislative session that the agency would cancel a NT$3 million payment to the CTFA.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
The agency has made strong representations to the CTFA instructing it to improve the condition of the pitch, he said.
In response to questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), Cheng said he was made aware of the problem on Tuesday last week and had last year instructed the CTFA to strengthen turf maintenance in the three to four weeks preceding the matches.
The incident indicates there was miscommunication between the CTFA’s competition and technical departments, he said.
“This is a disgrace, I have nothing else to say,” Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said during the legislative session, adding that the Sports Administration would conduct a thorough review to ensure all necessary preparations are made in advance of future matches.
Ko said she learned in September last year that Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium had been leased until last month, which made it impossible to undertake turf maintenance before the matches.
Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium, completed in 2022 at a cost of NT$350 million, immediately drew criticism from the public because it failed to meet FIFA certification criteria.
The stadium has two pitches, one grass and one with an artificial surface, and a capacity of 1,200 seats.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS