March 22 – The promise of the east has lured the might of Manchester United to make their 2016 pre-season tour to China for two games this summer.
Local rivals Manchester City are already in China this summer playing pre-season in the ‘International Cup’ and today also announced a grassroots football partnership with Chinese firm SoccerWorld.
Man Utd’s pre-season tour – ‘Tour 2016, presented by Aon’ – will see the club play two fixtures against as yet unnamed opposition on an 8-day trip.
Further details regarding the Tour, including fixture dates, opposition teams, venues and ticket details will be announced in the coming days, said a press release.
Man Utd are of course no strangers in the region having first visited in 1975 and have having made 10 trips in total to China, playing 12 games (won 11, drawn 1) against local sides.
The most recent game was against Kitchee SC in July 2013, where more than 40,000 fans sold-out the game in record time, with millions more supporters watching the game on live television throughout Asia.
The club says that it has 107 million followers in China, making it the country with more Manchester United fans than any other in the world.
Manchester United’s Executive Vice Chairman, Ed Woodward, said: “Manchester United has strong historical links with China and we are very proud of our relationship and of our fans throughout the country.
“A total of almost 500,000 supporters have attended previous games during our visits to China and we have always enjoyed exceptional support in the country, so naturally it is something that everybody is very much looking forward to this summer.”
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