Hong Kong Football Festival Returns With Elite Clubs As Organisers Seek Permanent Calendar Spot

After helping wash away the stain of the infamous Lionel Messi fiasco, the organisers of the returning Hong Kong Football Festival are aiming to establish the event as a permanent fixture on the city's sporting calendar. Last year's inaugural festival, staged 18 months after Argentine Messi skulked on the bench while his Inter Miami team played at Hong Kong Stadium, drew a pair of record crowds to Kai Tak Stadium. Ahead of Tuesday's official launch of the 2026 edition, which will feature Manchester City, Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan, Rachael Carroll, managing director of organisers TEG Sport, said all four clubs had committed to fielding their "strongest available teams". "It's their reputation at stake … they want to come and give their fans what they want," Carroll told the South China Morning Post. The 2025 edition, which saw AC Milan beat Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur overcome Arsenal, drew a combined crowd of 99,679. Multiple promoters have clustered in the hope of securing a piece of the pie this year and, separately from the festival, which has fixtures on August 1 and 5, Bayern Munich will play Aston Villa in the one-off Audi Football Summit on August 7.