2 days Ago By [email protected] (Dave Powell)
Liverpool are to head to Hong Kong and Japan this summer as part of their pre-season preparations Liverpool have announced that they will be heading to Asia this summer for their pre-season tour. The Reds will be playing games in Hong Kong and Japan. The Reds having secured a lucrative commercial deal with Japan Airlines , who became the club’s official airline partner last year, will be taking on AC Milan at the Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday, July 26, before making a first-ever visit to Japan, with the details of those fixtures to be announced in due course.
The tour will lean into the major partnerships that the club has. The clash with Milan - a club that has links to Liverpool through being owned by RedBird Capital Partners, the US investment firm that owns 11% of Reds owners Fenway Sports Group - will see the winners crowned as champions of the Standard Chartered Trophy. Standard Chartered have been Liverpool’s principal shirt partner since 2010.
Japan Airlines’ deal with the Reds is a significant one and the Japanese leg of the tour will see the club able to activate on the partnership and bring the club closer to the millions of fans that they have in the Asian market. Liverpool will be flown to Asia by Japan Airlines, with the club last in the region when they visited Singapore in 2023, while the previous trip to Hong Kong came in 2017. Ben Latty, chief commercial officer at Liverpool, said: “We’re extremely excited to be returning to Asia for this summer’s pre-season tour and we’re very grateful to our principal partner, Standard Chartered, for their support in sponsoring the Standard Chartered Trophy against AC Milan, 20 years on from that magical night in Istanbul.
“The game against Milan will take place at the state-of-the-art Kai Tak Stadium, a venue that was opened at the beginning of March. “It’s a great honour for us to enjoy the award-winning and first-rate hospitality of Japan Airlines, our official airline partner, to fly us in comfort and ensure our pre-season tour starts and ends in the best way possible. “We look forward to bringing our hundreds of millions of fans in Asia closer to the club they love.
” Sales details will follow in due course, but supporters can register their interest in the pre-season tour from today (Monday, March 31), via the club website. Relevant parties will also be contacted directly by the club. Mary Huen, CEO of Standard Chartered Hong Kong, said: “As the main club partner of Liverpool Football Club and the main sponsor of The Standard Chartered Trophy – Hong Kong, we are thrilled to bring the Reds back to Asia this July.
“At Standard Chartered, partnerships are in our DNA. We are therefore delighted to present this event with our long-term partner Liverpool FC – one of the world’s most successful football clubs – in our bank’s hugely important market, Hong Kong. This will offer local fans of the Reds, including our clients and colleagues, the extraordinary experience of watching the game in person.
“We look forward to seeing a full Kai Tak Stadium cheering on Arne Slot and the team.” While in Asia, the Reds will also take part in a number of key local community projects and cultural activities, as well as a number of fan events with some club legends. Junko Sakihara, deputy senior vice-president of customer experience at Japan Airlines, added: "Japan Airlines is pleased to be the Official Airline Partner of Liverpool FC’s 2025 International Pre-Season Tour to Asia this summer, which aligns with our own global ambitions to provide unique experiences for our customers and the diverse and global LFC fanbase.
"We look forward to carrying the LFC players and staff on their journey and providing our award-winning hospitality and service so that they can arrive at each destination rested and ready for play.".
