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Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will play each other in a pre-season friendly in Hong Kong — the first time in history that a north London derby has been held outside of the United Kingdom. The July 31 fixture is part of the Hong Kong Football Festival (HKFF) and will be held at the 50,000 seater Kai Tak Stadium which only opened at the beginning of March. Advertisement Tottenham regularly travel to Asia in pre-season and last year they visited Japan and South Korea.
Arsenal were on tour in the United States last summer and this will be their first visit to Hong Kong since 2012. “There are few bigger occasions in English football than a north London derby and to play this fixture in Hong Kong will be a huge occasion for our passionate fanbase across Asia, as well as providing ideal preparation for the team ahead of the new season,” Ryan Norys, Tottenham’s chief revenue officer, said. “As is tour tradition, the club will be involved in so much more than the match itself when we visit, supporting charitable causes, celebrating local culture, delivering football clinics for young people and engaging with fans and partners.
We cannot wait to visit such a beautiful place once again.” The first north London derby outside of the UK! 🤩 🏟️ Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong 🗓️ 31 July 2025 ⏰ 7.30pm (local time) — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 31, 2025 Arsenal’s managing director Richard Garlick spoke about the club’s “excitement” at returning to Hong Kong more than a decade after their last trip.
“As well as training hard and playing the match, we cannot wait to connect with our Hong Kong supporters in this wonderful part of the world,” he said. “Playing against Tottenham Hotspur in the magnificent new Kai Tak Stadium will be a great experience for both teams and supporters, and will be a very important part of our pre-season preparations ahead of the new season.” Liverpool are heading to Hong Kong in the summer too and will face Italian side AC Milan in the Standard Chartered Trophy on July 26 at the same venue as the NLD.
(Top photo of Son Heung-min and Declan Rice: Alex Pantling/Getty Images).
