Four of the biggest clubs in European football have chosen to come to Bangkok as part of their pre-season training prior to the 2013/14 season. Manchester United will visit from July 11 to 13, Chelsea will spend a week in the capital from July 12 to 18 and Liverpool is also scheduled to play a friendly in Bangkok on July 28. If those three giants of the English Premier League aren’t enough to whet the appetite of football fans, then perhaps Barcelona’s August 7 visit to the Kingdom, the club’s first, will prove sufficient.
Singha Corporation’s Sports Marketing Director Jaturon Himathongkom is delighted that two of the English Premier League’s biggest teams – Manchester United and Chelsea – have chosen to come to Bangkok at the same time.
“This will be the first time two English Premier teams visit Bangkok at the same time,” he said.
Manchester United will take on Singha All Star XI on July 13 at Rajamangala Stadium. Singha, in its role as United’s official beer partner, obviously played a big part in luring Man U to Bangkok. The company will serve as the match sponsor, with the game forming part of the Thai brewer’s 80th anniversary celebrations. The winner of the match will go on to be the first winner of the absolutely pointless Singha 80th Anniversary Cup.
United’s first visit to Thailand took place in 1975 and the club has returned three times since for pre-season friendlies. This match, however, marks the club’s first sojourn in Thailand in more than a decade.
Chelsea’s schedule will include a match against Singha Thailand Allstar XI in another Singha Cup on Wednesday July 17 at Rajamanagala National Stadium. Chelsea’s visit to Bangkok is part of their “2013 Here to Play, Here to Stay” tour of Asia, which will take in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Chelsea will engage in several activities during its week-long trip, including a soccer clinic at Bangkok’s Super Kick stadium, charity work and a sightseeing cruise along the Chao Praya River.
“They will train in more than one stadium, with some sessions open to the public,” said Jaturon. “They will also visit Siriraj Hospital to offer their well-wishes to His Majesty the King.”
One hundred rooms at Bangkok’s Shangri-La Hotel are already reserved for some 60 players and staff of Chelsea FC, with Jaturon confirming that first-team players are expected to make the trip “unless they are committed to big games or are injured”.
Tickets for the Chelsea match are THB800, THB1,000, THB1,500, THB2,000 or THB3,000 baht. They will go on sale soon. Ticket information for the Manchester United game will be released soon as well.
No information has been released yet for Barça’s fifth tour of Asia in the last 10 years or Liverpool’s tour.
