Speech by SCST at Audi Football Summit 2026 announcement press conference (English only)
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Mr Zhou Quanqing (Managing Director of KuoKai Sports), Mr Brian Yeung (Managing Director of Scramble Events), Mr Eric Fok (Chairman of the Football Association of Hong Kong, China), Mr Rouven Kasper (Chief Marketing and Sales Officer and Board Member of FC Bayern Müchen), Mr Ben Hatton (Chief Operations Officer of Aston Villa FC), legends Stefan (Legend of FC Bayern München Mr Stefan Effenberg) and Alan (Legend of Aston Villa FC Mr Alan McInally), media friends, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening, everyone. It is wonderful to see you all here at this press conference. For at least some of you, we are actually meeting the second time in the same day - having gathered this morning to celebrate the launch of another spectacular premier football event here in Hong Kong. And now we have more, and if you have a particular fondness for German football, you might actually say that we are saving the best for last.
We are immensely proud to welcome two of Europe's most formidable clubs to Hong Kong for the Audi Football Summit 2026, taking place this August: Bayern München, or more familiar to us, Bayern Munich from Germany, and Aston Villa from the English Premier League (EPL). I would say this is a long overdue return for both teams. It has been nearly 20 years since Bayern last played here, and 15 for Aston Villa.
What makes this even more exciting is that both teams are in outstanding form. Already crowned champions of the Bundesliga with four rounds to go, Bayern Munich produced a thrilling comeback to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals just a few days ago. Aston Villa, meanwhile, is enjoying a fantastic season - currently sitting among the top four in the Premier League and recently securing a powerful 4-0 victory in the Europa League. So the Audi Football Summit promises to be a truly amazing encounter of the giants.
As I mentioned this morning, our Kai Tak Sports Park, and in particular Kai Tak Stadium has become the preferred venue for pre-season games of top international football clubs, as well as many other major international sporting and entertainment events. Indeed, as Aston Villa coming our way, the top six EPL clubs will all have appeared in Kai Tak Stadium. I sincerely hope that for both the teams and fans travelling from abroad, you will also find time to enjoy the many tourism offerings in Hong Kong while you are here. My colleagues at the Hong Kong Tourism Board are certainly ready to offer ideas - and that experience could start right now with the legendary players from both teams, who have flown in specially to support this exciting launch.
Before I close, I would also like to thank KuoKai Sports and Scramble Events for bringing the Audi Football Summit to Hong Kong. And I look forward to seeing everyone at Kai Tak Stadium on August 7.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Issued at HKT 20:10
Issued at HKT 20:10
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