Football fans in Hong Kong are in for a treat this summer as four of the world’s biggest football clubs – Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and AC Milan – are set to play pre-season matches at the new Kai Tak Stadium.
The Hong Kong Festival of Football, organised by TEG Sport, will take place in July ahead of the 2025-26 season, according to multiple media reports.
The games will kick off on 26 July, with Liverpool taking on AC Milan and the North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham clashing in a derby on 31 July – the first time such a match will have been played outside the UK. These matches will mark the final stages of preparations for the Premier League, which begins on 16 August, and Serie A, which starts later in the month.
[See more: Hong Kong’s Cristiano Ronaldo museum will open in July]
This announcement comes shortly after the successful conclusion of the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens at the HK$30 billion Kai Tak Sports Park. The park features a state-of-the-art, 50,000-capacity stadium that positions Hong Kong as a credible events rival to Singapore, which has hosted numerous high-profile football events since opening its National Stadium in 2014.
Hong Kong, by contrast, has seen limited high-profile matches in recent years, with Atletico Madrid’s visit in 2022 marking the first notable game since Manchester City played Kitchee in 2019.
Liverpool’s return to Hong Kong will be their first since winning the Premier League Asia Trophy in 2017, while Tottenham last visited the same year after a friendly with Kitchee. Arsenal’s most recent trip was in 2012, and Milan has not played in Hong Kong since 2004 when they faced Kitchee a year before their Champions League final loss to Liverpool.
