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Liverpool FC have confirmed their return to Asia for the 2025 pre-season tour, opting against participating in the Premier League’s USA Summer Series.

The Reds will face AC Milan in Hong Kong’s new 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium on July 26—marking the first football match at the venue—before heading to Japan to face Yokohama F.



Marin on July 30.

The Hong Kong leg, sponsored by long-term partner Standard Chartered, revives memories of Liverpool’s iconic 2005 Champions League final win over Milan.

Japan Airlines, the club’s official airline partner since 2024, will transport the squad, leveraging the profile of Japanese captain Wataru Endo.

This tour follows Liverpool’s 2023 Singapore visit and contrasts with last summer’s US-focused schedule, which included matches against Arsenal and Manchester United.

Chief Commercial Officer Ben Latty emphasized the strategic rationale, when speaking to the Liverpool Echo: “Returning to Asia was a priority.

We’ve got hundreds of millions of fans here, and partnerships like Japan Airlines allow us to strengthen our roots while preparing the team competitively.”

The club’s Asian fanbase has grown exponentially since their 2017 Hong Kong visit, with merchandise sales and digital engagement metrics placing the region second only to Europe in commercial importance.

Key factors influencing the shift:

Logistical Complexity: Organizing US tours requires navigating crowded schedules, limited training facilities, and competition with other Premier League clubs.

Four top-flight teams (Manchester United, Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham) are already committed to the Summer Series.

Commercial Leverage: Asia’s growing economy and Liverpool’s recent partnerships (e.g., Japan Airlines) offered higher ROI potential.

Last year’s US tour, while successful, involved cross-country flights between Philadelphia, South Carolina, and New York—a workload deemed less ideal for Slot’s evolving squad.

Latty added on the decision to go to Japan would be the first time the club has done so for pre-season:

“We haven’t actually ever been to Japan for pre-season.

“This is something we’ve wanted to do for a while and this was the best option and the opening for us to do it?

Obviously, there is our partnership with Japan Airlines, and we’re incredibly grateful to them for supplying us with the jet to go there in comfort and in style.”

“I think for us it was just the meeting of many things, but I guess mainly it was markets that we either haven’t been to for a while or haven’t been before at all.”

“We know we’ve got strong fan bases in there, big retail operations, big markets for our partners, then ultimately it was trying to piece together a schedule which worked for the football department which meant that we had the right training facilities, playing in the right stadiums with the right turf

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