May 26 – The biennial Premier League Asia Trophy will be held this July in Hong Kong with Liverpool leading the line-up and being joined by Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace.
This will be the eighth edition of the competition that was last won by Arsenal in Singapore in 2015. It will be the fourth time it has been played in Hong Kong – it has also been played in Bangkok, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.
The Premier League will be taking a full roadshow to Hong Kong with matches officiated by Premier League Match Officials as well as local match officials, and will be staged in accordance with Premier League Rules.
A full programme of community and football development initiatives will be run including a Premier Skills referee development training course, an elite level referee management symposium and community coaching workshops, in partnership with the Hong Kong Football Association.
“We are very excited to be returning to Hong Kong this summer for the Premier League Asia Trophy,” Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore said.
“We know from previous visits that fans in Hong Kong, and across the region, are passionate supporters of our clubs.”
The tournament is the Premier League’s showcase event in the region, replicating the Premier League experience as closely as possible for local fans.
Matches will be played as double headers on July 19 and July 22. The knock out fixtures will qualify winners for the final. Tickets will go on sale in early June and will be sold per match day with a ticket allowing access to both matches on the day.
Arsenal and Chelsea are already playing in the region as part of the International Champions Cup (ICC) tournament in July in Singapore and Beijing.
Meanwhile Liverpool have already made one trip through Asia for their post-season friendly at the ANZ Stadium against FC Sydney, Liverpool’s last official fixture of the 2016-17 season.
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