Manchester City will visit Malaysia for the first time in July, marking the English Premier League club's only stop in Southeast Asia, the event promoter said Wednesday.
The club will meet a select squad of Malaysian League players on July 30 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, promoters ProEvents said in a press release.
Manchester City will come to Kuala Lumpur after playing English Premiership rivals Arsenal in Beijing on July 27, it said.
"This visit is hugely exciting for Manchester City," the club's interim chief executive officer John MacBeath was quoted in the release.
"It is clear that there is significant appetite for the Premier League in Malaysia, and we are very excited to (be) taking our talented squad there to put on a sporting spectacle for our fans in Southeast Asia," he added.
ProEvents said it expected fans from Malaysia, as well as neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand to throng the 87,000-capacity stadium.
Malaysia has hosted several top English Premier League clubs in recent years as those have increasingly courted Asia, keen to nurture a fan base and to help attract sponsors.
Earlier this month, Arsenal announced they would hold an open training session in Kuala Lumpur on July 23 and a match against Malaysian League players the next night.
The Gunners then travel to China to play Manchester City in Beijing, followed by a match in Hong Kong against local side Kitchee on July 29.
Arsenal already visited Malaysia and China last year. Other top European clubs who came to the region included Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
Source: AFP
