EPL Talk » preseason friendlies

Everton May Tour Down Under This Summer

The Gaffer — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:11:04 +0000

The likelihood that Everton will tour the United States this summer for preseason friendlies is slim. That’s because the club are in negotiations to visit Australia and New Zealand, according to an online Kiwi newspaper.

Everton are in talks with Phoenix, a club team in Wellington, New Zealand to play a match at their Westpac stadium in July, 2009. The Merseyside club has already agreed to play Perth Glory from Australia, although that match is contingent on Everton being able to playing at least one other team down under.

Everton are reportedly also in discussions to play teams from Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. If the deal to go down under goes through, the Australian and New Zealand clubs will share the cost Everton’s travel expenses.

Wellington Phoenix chief executive Tony Pignata also revealed he was speaking to Fulham about a possible pre-season fixture.

Everton has visited the United States for preseason tours four times in the past five years, so it’ll be a shame if the Goodison Park club decides to go down under.

While the Premier League is in full swing, the clubs are busy behind the scenes organizing their preseason friendlies. Manchester United will be touring South Korea, China, Indonesia and Malaysia, while Chelsea will be traveling to the United States for a friendly against Seattle on July 18. Arsenal, meanwhile, have been discussing the possibility of playing the Peace Cup tournament in Spain which begins in late July. For the complete list of matches featuring Premier League teams, visit EPL Talk’s preseason friendlies page.

Chelsea Organizes Friendly Against Seattle Sounders

The Gaffer — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:51:09 +0000

Chelsea will play Seattle Sounders in a friendly on July 18, according to Emerald City Supporters, a Sounders supporters group.

No official statement has been made by Chelsea or Seattle Sounders, the newest team to Major League Soccer, but EPL Talk has a message in to the Sounders to confirm or deny the story received confirmation from a Seattle Sounders representative that the story is true.

The MLS Rumors website, meanwhile, is reporting that Sounders ticket representatives have been telling fans about the upcoming match, which will be played at Qwest Stadium.

For the most comprehensive list of preseason friendlies around the world involving Premier League teams, visit our Premier League Preseason Friendlies page.

Thanks to Jeff Hash for the tip.

Update (as of February 17, 2009): The Seattle Sounders finally officially confirmed that the game will take place. Kickoff time will be noon PT. Tickets will be available for sale sometime in the Spring. Capacity will be limited to approximately 24,500. Note that tickets will be available to season ticket holders first (which, so far, number 19,500). Based on those numbers, very few tickets (if any) will be available on general sale in the spring.

Manchester United Announce 2009 Asia Summer Tour

The Gaffer — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:27:15 +0000

Manchester United has announced that the club will be playing several friendlies in Asia during the summer of 2009.

The projected dates for the summer tour, as of press time, are:

Malaysia – July 18, Malaysia XI v Man United
Indonesia – July 20, Indonesia XI v Man United
Korea – July 24, FC Seoul v Man United
China – July 26, Greentown FC v Man United

Manchester United will depart for Asia on July 16.

In the summer of 2008, Man United toured South Africa and Nigeria instead of Asia. The last time the Red Devils had a preseason tour in Asia was 2007. However, the 2009 summer tour marks the fifth time in the last decade that the club has toured Asia.

Not surprisingly, Man United’s 2009 summer tour is very similar to Chelsea’s 2008 summer tour where the Blues visited China, Macau and Kuala Lumpur. It’s not surprising because both clubs employed the same Asian football promoter, ProEvents.

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3 Teams Invited to 2009 Premier League Asia Trophy

The Gaffer — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:30:38 +0000

Plans are being finalized for the 2009 Premier League Asia Trophy. So far, Chelsea, West Ham United and Hull City have been invited to participate in the tournament which is likely to be held in China, in either Beijing or Shanghai.

The 2007 edition of the tournament was hosted in Hong Kong where Portsmouth won the competition after beating Liverpool on penalty kicks in the final.

The 2009 tournament will be the fourth time the Premier League Asia Trophy has been played. The contest began in 2003 in Malaysia where Chelsea were the eventual champions. In 2005, Thailand were the hosts where Bolton won top honors. And the 2007 tournament in Hong Kong was the most successful one to date.

If the 2009 tournament isn’t played in China, the next likely host countries will be South Korea and then Hong Kong.

If Chelsea accepts the invitation to play in the 2009 Premier League Asia Trophy, it’ll severely put their chances of playing friendlies in the United States next summer in doubt. It’s unlikely that Chelsea will want to travel to North America and Asia during the preseason.

Tottenham Coming To USA For Future Preseason Tour

The Gaffer — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:00:33 +0000

Not to be outdone by rivals Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur has announced a strategic partnership with a Major League Soccer club.

In 2007, Arsenal announced a partnership with Colorado. Now Spurs have announced a deal with San Jose Earthquakes. The major difference with the Spurs deal is that it sets the wheel in motion for Tottenham to conduct future US tours.

According to Tottenham Development Coach Clive Allen, “The relationship will provide us with the opportunity to exchange coaches and methodology as well as providing a base for the Club in any future US tours. Our aim is to support the development of MLS by using our wealth of experience in the game on a number of levels. Football development will certainly be an integral part of the partnership, but other areas of our infrastructure will be beneficial models such as the work we do in the community with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.”

Tottenham Hotspur first visited the US in 1951 to play Manchester United at Yankee Stadium, New York. The match ended with a 7-1 scoreline in favor of Spurs. In 1966 the Club toured the US for the first time and played matches in numerous locations including Chicago, Detroit, Hartford, Jersey City and San Francisco. Tottenham Hotspur last visited the US in 2003 to play DC United in the Capital Cup, which resulted in a defeat against the Washington-based team.

It’s not known when Spurs will play preseason friendlies in the United States, but it may happen as early as the summer of 2009 or 2010.