After the 1997 handover, Hong Kong became a special territory as a result of the earlier 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which stipulates that, albeit being part of China, it enjoys a highly autonomous status.

The Basic Law, its constitution, guarantees the territory's right to join international organisations and events independently (such as the Olympic Games) that are not restricted to sovereign states, under the new name "Hong Kong, China".

Hong Kong lost the bid to Doha at the OCA general meeting held in Busan, South Korea on 12 November 2000.

[1] Yang also said "You are also reminded to use the name 'Hong Kong, China' when participating in any international sports competitions/activities and to display it on uniforms, websites and all other publicity materials, where applicable.

"[2] In June 2006, the LCSD and ICAC held a seminar, named "Striving for Good Corporate Governance" to brief more than 100 members of NSAs on ways prevent corruption.

[3] The Deputy Director of the LCSD said that "As users of public funds, sports bodies must not only discharge their obligations under the Subvention Agreement but also conduct their business in a transparent, fair and open manner.

While they have uploaded their respective constitution onto their websites, other relevant documents such as annual reports, balance sheets and statements of accounts are not available in the public domain.

In comparison, NOCs in Australia, Japan and the US show a high degree of openness and transparency with proactive disclosure of relevant information for the public understanding and scrutiny of their operations.

[12] In August 2016, the Hong Kong Economic Journal released an article, accusing the SF&OC and Timothy Fok of various transgressions.

[14] A month later, in May 2020, Legislative Council members questioned the Olympic Committee's governance, accusing the SF&OC of lacking transparency when selecting athletes for the 2018 Asian Games.

[15] In one conversation, legislator Abraham Razack asked "The Olympic Committee spends HK$20 million a year of public money but has it been fair to the athletes?

[14] In response, Baptist University's Professor Chung Pak-kwong, former chief executive of the Hong Kong Sports Institute, said that the SF&OC "has grown into an empire and transparency and accountability are not in their dictionary".

[16] In July 2020, the Legislative Council's Public Accounts Committee criticized the Hong Kong Football Association under Timothy Fok, stating its governance was "appalling and inexcusable".

[21] In September 2021, SCMP published an article which detailed multiple complaints against the Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association (HKIHA), from former coaches and players.

[34] Wong also said he found the mistake hard to believe and would not accept the explanation or apology from Asia Rugby, and said that South Korea should be banned from hosting similar events.

[37] In March 2023, after another incident where Glory to Hong Kong was played, Pui Kwan-kay of the SF&OC said that the government should force Google to de-prioritize the song on its search results.

[39] The HKIHA responded by saying that the SF&OC provided a faulty link to download the correct anthem, when the webpage was changed to English.