Manchester United coming to Hong Kong as city stages another football coup
The 20-times Premier League champions set for match against Hong Kong select team, although date could clash with local FA Cup final
Manchester United will play a match at Hong Kong Stadium at the end of May, multiple sources have told the Post.
The 20-times English champions are likely to face a Hong Kong Select XI, although a suggested May 31 date for the fixture would clash with the local FA Cup final at Mong Kok Stadium.
It was confirmed on Monday that Kai Tak Stadium will stage a Hong Kong Football Festival in July, with Liverpool playing AC Milan on the 26th, and Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur meeting in the first overseas North London derby five days later.
The new 50,000-capacity venue is staging JJ Lin concerts on May 24 and 25, leaving an impossibly small window to reconfigure it for Manchester United’s visit only days later.
In addition, John Sharkey, the Kai Tak Sports Park CEO, said the stadium’s playing surface had been taken to a “turf nursery” after the weekend’s Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, to be repaired for the marquee July fixtures.
Manchester United are expected to play in Malaysia before coming to Hong Kong, with both matches organised by ProEvents, the long-standing promoters who have previously delivered a number of leading European clubs to Hong Kong and multiple other Asian destinations.