Exclusive: Why Liverpool chose Asia for pre-season this summer and what is in store for US plans

Liverpool will head to Japan and Hong Kong this summer while many teams trek to North America for pre-season

This summer will see Liverpool jet to Asia for pre-season games in Hong Kong and Japan. The Reds will take in games with AC Milan and Yokohama F. Marinos on July 26 and 30.

At a time when many Premier League clubs are heading out to the United States this summer, with the World Cup in North America just a year out as well as the FIFA Club World Cup taking place in the US this summer, Liverpool have opted for a different route when it comes to their preparations for 2025/26, a season where it looks increasingly likely they’ll be the defending Premier League champions.

Liverpool last visited the region by playing in Singapore in 2023, and previously travelled to Hong Kong for pre-season in 2017. It is a market where they have a significant fan base, and also multiple key commercial partners, including the recently added Japan Airlines, who will fly the Reds to their destination, and main shirt sponsor Standard Chartered, who will be title sponsor of the trophy that will be contested with Milan.

“I think, first and foremost, when we plan these summer tours, it's such a complex operation,” said Ben Latty, Liverpool’s chief commercial officer, speaking exclusively to the ECHO.

“Finding available stadiums, matching up with opposition, getting the local FA to sanction the game, it's an incredibly long and extended process, but like for us it starts with sitting down as we did this year with Richard Hughes (sporting director) and and David Woodfine (assistant sporting director) and talking through the different options we had available to us.

“We did have a number of different options and one thing I will say, and I always say this, is that football preparation is paramount for. We would never do or even suggest anything which they were against so it's always working with that group.

“Obviously there's been a transition in football leadership and it was a good process from the very start with those guys in terms of figuring out what the options were and which ones we ruled out and which ones were ones that would work for them.

“From our perspective, heading back to Asia was something we wanted to do.

“Asia is a big market for us. It's a big fan base out there in that continent. We have a number of partners too, specifically Hong Kong and Japan, they're big markets.

“Whether they're from those markets or not, they see those markets as important ones to activate on. Obviously for Standard Chartered, Hong Kong and Japan are key markets, so we’re delighted that we’ll be playing in the Standard Chartered Trophy against AC Milan.

“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 etc.

“You can imagine the level of detail we go into. It ticked all the boxes for us. So we’re really excited by it. It should be a great tour.”

So what was the motivation behind choosing Asia this summer, at a time when many other Premier League clubs are looking at the US?

America is a hugely important market for Liverpool, so much so that the club has an office in New York to service the Americas, and also many US-based companies among its list of commercial partners, including the likes of UPS, Wasabi, Orion Innovation, Expedia and Peloton.

Some industry experts that the ECHO has spoken to in recent months have claimed that so much football taking place in the US might lead to a little ‘fan fatigue’ when it comes to how compelling it is to sell another club on another tour. But with so many games being played in the US already this summer, finding a venue and training facilities would have been more challenging, as well as the fact that the Reds visited the US last summer, a market where they already have a significant presence and cut through.

“We’re not heading to the US this summer because of a concern over fan fatigue,” said Latty.

“The US is a big market for us. You see the sort of partners now we have there, and that's working closely with the FSM (Fenway Sports Management) team led by Ryan Fischer.

“We are starting to find that brands headquartered in the US see the value, the scale and the reach of the Premier League. I've said this before but, for me, when you see that and you look for a club to associate yourself with, I do believe Liverpool is at the very top of that list.

“It's our second-biggest retail market. I think there's a huge opportunity to continue growing our retail business in the US, whether that's through our ecommerce platform or stores, whether that is owned and operated or partner stores.

“I'm hoping, clearly in my role, that the World Cup will bring extra excitement around football. Obviously, it's a huge grassroots sport in the US. It's only getting bigger as it relates to the appeal of the Premier League. NBC have been a big partner in the Premier League as it related to growing the Premier league in terms of the broadcast programme that they put out, but also the events they're doing on the ground as well.

“The Premier League is investing. Over there, they've opened an office. They've got the Premier League Summer Series this summer as well. There are other markets of focus for us, by the way, but certainly the US is a market of focus for us as a club.

“How we can continue to grow that market is clearly something we are continuing to look at, and that's not just in terms of commercial revenue but also growing our fan base over there. I think that's going to be important and that can be in the form of many things. Doing more on our international academies, doing more events, increasing our digital content to those markets, making more content more relevant for that market, etc. There's plenty that we can do and that's what we're looking at at the moment.”