HCM CITY — Mai Ba Hung, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told Viet Nam News about his agency's main tasks this year.
What are your main tasks in 2011?
The city will continue to strengthen major sports and support elite athletes.
The city will speed up the process of setting up a management unit to manage the Rach Chiec Sports Complex.
The city is also seeking permission from the Government to host a continental- or regional-level sports event like the 2018 Southeast Asian Games and Asian Youth Olympics.
Another main task this year is to develop a multi-sport complex at Phu Tho and continue to mobilise resources to develop sports.
How is decentralisation helping develop city sports?
It has allowed the Department to better manage affiliated units and take advantage of their ability to contribute to the development of sports in the city.
This way the Department only works with the units that are assigned to oversee the sports.
For example, the department assigned the Phu Nhuan Sports Centre to manage men's volleyball. The Centre will manage the funds allocated by the city and work with the team sponsor.
What about policies to help elite athletes?
The city will help elite athletes like Nguyen Hoang Thien, Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen, and others take part in international competitions.
Thien will get VND500 million ($25,000) to cover the costs of foreign travel while Tuyen will begin training in China next month. The support for Liem will be decided this Saturday.
The city is planning to help Pham Hoang Nam play in international badminton tournaments. — VNS
