The curtain came down on the first Hong Kong Football Festival on Thursday, with a game between bitter rivals Arsenal and Tottenham that made a mockery of its friendly status and left organisers basking in the glow of a job well done.
By any metric, they would consider the past week to have been a success, on and off the field, including a particularly impressive milestone for Kai Tak Stadium, which welcomed its 1 millionth visitor despite having been open for less than six months.
Almost 60,000 fans turned out just to see the four teams train, and nearly 100,000 passed through the stadium’s gates to watch Liverpool, AC Milan, Arsenal and Tottenham play the first pre-season games of substance in the city since the Asia Trophy in 2017.
For the second game running, the crowd broke the record for attendance at a sporting occasion at the city’s newest venue. This time, 49,975 crammed in, just 25 people short of the official capacity.
Rachael Carroll, managing director of promoters TEG Sport, said the week had been “a thrilling experience for everyone involved”.
“We can proudly say that the Hong Kong Football Festival has delivered on its promise to provide an unprecedented experience for football fans, right here in Hong Kong,” Carroll added.
