(Hong Kong, June 27, 2024) Kitchee announced today that La Liga giants Atlético de Madrid will visit Hong Kong as part of their pre-season, including a friendly against Kitchee at Hong Kong Stadium on Wednesday, August 7 at 8 p.m. HKT. The match, which is sponsored by EDPS Systems Limited – celebrating its 50th anniversary, will be the first meeting between a domestic club and a world-class powerhouse after the pandemic.
Tickets for the match will be available on Cityline from July 2 onwards. As the match is supported by the HKSAR Government, Kitchee has decided to use the Government financial support to subsidise match tickets, making it affordable for the mass public to attend the match. Tickets are available in three categories – limited best-view seats priced at HK$640 for internal sales only; general admission tickets and concession tickets priced at HK$420 and HK$120 respectively. HK$15 service fees will be charged per ticket for each transaction on Cityline. Also, part of the ticket revenue (HK$60 from each internal sales ticket, HK$40 from each general admission ticket and HK$20 from each concession ticket) will be donated to the Hong Kong Premier League Committee Youth Development Fund to support development of youth football.
This summer fiesta will see Argentine professional football manager Diego Simeone’s team bringing different world class players, including World Cup winners Antoine Griezmann, Rodrigo Javier De Paul, Ángel Correa, Nahuel Molina, alongside other famous players such as, Álvaro Morata, Koke, César Azpilicueta, Jan Oblak, Saúl Ñíguez, Axel Witsel, Marcos Llorente, etc.* to continue Kitchee’s ongoing commitment to bring and host best football teams in the world to Hong Kong.
The friendly also holds great significance for all local football supporters as the greatest Kitchee player of all time and captain Huang Yang will be preparing for one final outing as the one and LAST Kitchee number 19.
“Kitchee vs Atlético de Madrid” is proud of being an “M” Mark event that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. The “M” Mark awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolises intense, spectacular and signature event in the territory sports calendar.” On a separate matter, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong is the event’s Official Hotel Partner and Toyota is the Official Car Partner.
“Football is the most popular sport in Hong Kong. We are committed to bring some of the best and world-class players to town not only to perform, but also to provide the public with the opportunity to enjoy top-level live sports performance at an affordable price, and this is what we should be offering as a host. Also, what makes this match worth mentioning is we will donate part of the matchday revenue to the HKPLC Youth Development Fund to support youth football development for a good cause. Kitchee is seeking to build a dynamic squad for the 2024/25 campaign, and this exhibition match against Atlético de Madrid will be a great opportunity for our talents to excite the crowd,” said Mr. Ken K. Ng, President of Kitchee (Sports Management) Limited.
“In our sporting planning, this match will be the penultimate match we will play before the start of the next La Liga season. For us, it is a key match in our preparation to be in top condition for the start of an exciting season, which will take place just 10 days after this match. That's why we are taking this match with the utmost sporting demand and with the utmost respect for our opposition.” said Mr. Óscar Mayo Pardo, Chief Operating Officer of Atlético de Madrid.
“This is an exciting year as some of the major sporting events are scheduled to be held in 2024, and we are delighted to have an elite European football club to visit Hong Kong this summer for their pre-season. We would like to thank Kitchee for their hard work for preparing this match, and we are really looking forward to it,” said HON Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, MH, JP, Vice-Chairman of Major Sports Events Committee.
“HKFA is committed to promoting Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events. This exhibition match between Kitchee and Atlético de Madrid will be a great opportunity for local passionate supporters, as well as for those from the Greater Bay Area, to gather under one roof to enjoy a top-class football game. As the match co-organiser, HKFA will fully support the match operation,” said Mr. Eric Fok, JP, Chairman of The Football Association of Hong Kong, China Limited.
Kitchee is also delighted to announce that the Club has partnered with the Hong Kong Premier League Committee (HKPLC) making it an official community partner for this exhibition match. Several coaches and academy players from every Premier League team will be participating in a football clinic that is co-hosted by Atlético de Madrid during their stay. Moreover, through this partnership, part of the matchday revenue will be donated to the HKPLC Youth Development Fund to support each team to promote the long-term vision by developing well-rounded individuals in Hong Kong.
“HKPLC is pleased to become Kitchee’s community partner on this special occasion. We have seen plenty of talented individuals from each club adapt to the first team for the past season. We strive to use the Youth Development Fund as a channel to provide a fully integrated system across all teams to develop intelligent and autonomous players who can play at the highest levels in Hong Kong.” said Mr. Chan, Man-chun, JP, Convenor of HKPLC.
In addition, Blue Wave members and Kitchee Academy students will receive priority access to purchase tickets to this exhibition match, with further details forthcoming.
* Atlético de Madrid traveling squad for preseason match in Hong Kong will be announced shortly.