April 1 – Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will take their fierce north London rivalry abroad for the primary time after they face-off in a pre-season pleasant in Hong Kong this summer season. The conflict shall be performed on the newly opened Kai Tak Stadium on 31 July, marking the primary North London Derby to be hosted outdoors of the UK.
The match will headline the Hong Kong Soccer Pageant, which is seeking to convey elite European soccer to the area. The pageant will even characteristic Liverpool taking over AC Milan on 26 July in what would be the first soccer match on the state-of-the-art 50,000-seat venue.
Kai Tak Stadium is the centrepiece of the HK$30 billion Kai Tak Sports activities Park (KTSP) challenge, designed to remodel Hong Kong right into a premier vacation spot for worldwide sports activities and leisure. The venue has already attracted main company funding, with Marriott Bonvoy and HSBC signed on as key business companions beneath the ‘Championing Hong Kong’ initiative.
For Arsenal, this marks a return to Hong Kong for the primary time since 2012, whereas Spurs proceed their world outreach after touring Japan and South Korea in 2024. Tottenham are regulars in the case of touring Asia, largely due to having maybe the preferred south-east Asian footballer in historical past, Son Heung-Min, on their books.
The sport provides to a packed summer season of worldwide fixtures for English Premier League golf equipment. Manchester United will play post-season friendlies in Hong Kong and Malaysia earlier than heading to the USA, the place a number of English golf equipment shall be based mostly.
In the meantime, Chelsea and Manchester Metropolis are but to verify their pre-season plans as they weigh up commitments to the expanded FIFA Membership World Cup, which kicks off on 15 June.
With Kai Tak Stadium making an announcement as a significant soccer venue in Asia, the North London Derby shall be one other milestone in its emergence as a world-class sporting hub.
Contact the author of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1743500122labto1743500122ofdlr1743500122owedi1743500122sni@g1743500122niwe.1743500122yrrah1743500122