English Premier League club Chelsea will take on Perth Glory at Perth Stadium in 2018.
Current Premier League leaders Chelsea will return to Australian shores in 2018 after the Western Australian Government announced the news that they will take on Perth Glory at the new Perth Stadium.
The match date has yet to be confirmed though it is expected to take place in either July or August of 2018 and will know doubt be the hottest ticket in town as the event will no doubt attract a sell-out crowd of 65,000 at Perth’s new stadium. and will be the only match Chelsea will play on their trip down under.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for Chelsea to play in front of some of our most passionate supporters,” said Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck.
Chelsea also won’t just be flying in and out for the event, a deal struck with Tourism WA will see the club providing other activities such as open training sessions and grassroots training clinics.
While it may be easy to predict the winner of the match – the real winner will be Perth and WA, again putting Perth in world’s spotlight.
We will play Chelsea in a pre-season friendly at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing this summer.Our first meeting with our London rivals outside the UK will take place on Saturday, July 22.This will be our second trip to Beijing and our third visit to China in recent years – we faced Manchester City at the Bird’s Nest in 2012 and Hangzhou Greentown in 2011.* Please be aware this is not our full and final pre-season schedule. We are still working on other games which will be announced in due course.
Chelsea will play Arsenal in a London derby with a difference at China’s national stadium this summer.
This announcement comes just hours before the Gunners visit Stamford Bridge as we seek to extend our lead at the top of the Premier League table.
This summer we will visit Asia to prepare for the 2017/18 campaign and play Arsenal on 22 July at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium. This will be the first time the two sides have met outside the British Isles.
We last faced Arsenal outside London in the 2007 League Cup final in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, when Theo Walcott’s opener was cancelled out by a Didier Drogba brace to win the game for the Blues.
The Bird’s Nest, which opened for the 2008 Olympics, has a capacity of 80,000 and we are looking forward to an incredible atmosphere.
It will be our first visit to mainland China since that Olympic summer of 2008, when we won matches in Guanghzou and Macau. We also lifted the Premier League Asia Trophy in Hong Kong in 2011.
Antonio Conte said: ‘In this moment we are focused on winning a very important game against Arsenal in the league but we are happy to be travelling to China for another exciting match in the summer.
‘I have seen already the passion our supporters have for Chelsea here in England and last summer in America, and I believe our fans in China will show the same intensity when we are in Beijing.’
Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck added: ‘We’re thrilled to be announcing this match in China against one of our biggest London rivals.
‘It will be an important step in helping Antonio and his staff ready the team for next season, and we hope it will provide some reward for our Chinese fans who show huge commitment all year round to support Chelsea.’
The match will be screened live on chelseafc.com and Chelsea TV, with Ticket News to follow soon.
Mr Sidi M. Airouss and Lou Sticca and the promoter ANZ have successfully concluded an historic contract between the regional Government of NSW and the English Premier League football giants Arsenal FC which will see Destination NSW become the club’s Official Tourism Partner, securing the team for a two-match tour exclusive to Sydney, Australia in July 2017.
The partnership will give the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, the opportunity to promote and market NSW travel and tourism to Arsenal’s global following. Destination NSW is particularly focused on using the partnership to gain exposure in the UK, China and the United States, countries where the club has a particularly large and engaged fanbase.
Destination NSW will become Arsenal’s official tourism partner for Australia, with the ability to utilise a wide range of rights including LED perimeter signage, player and legend access, digital and social promotions, in-stadium activations and matchday hospitality.
SIDI M. AIROUSS & LOU STICCA
Arsenal’s chief commercial officer, Vinai Venkatesham, said: “We are excited to enter into this partnership with the NSW Government and Destination NSW. As well as being our first partnership agreement in Australia, the deal is unique in combining a tourism partnership with pre-season matches. “We look forward to working with our new partner to promote NSW, before bringing our first team to Sydney for two games in 2017 in front of our passionate Australian fans.”
NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events and Minister for Sport, Stuart Ayres, said the partnership would see the state promoted to Arsenal fans around the world. “This Australian-first partnership will see Sydney and NSW showcased to a global audience every week, giving our state exposure to millions of Arsenal and English Premier League fans. We are proud to be associated with Arsenal, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious football clubs, and look forward to welcoming them to Sydney in 2017.”
A video message from Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger as well as Arsenal and Sydney highlights is available for download at https://vimeo.com/148172289
Well, that was a frantic end to a game which felt like a friendly but had its moments all the same. Sydney will be disappointed they didn’t get a goal; they certainly had enough chances. But they’ll be pleased to have stayed with the Premier League champions even if Chelsea didn’t approach the game with their usual squinty-eyed steel.
You can question the worth, in footballing terms, of post-season tours like this, but then it’s not about the football really is it? Almost 84,000 turned up to watch so it will have been worth it for Chelsea. Still, they must be wondering —as will Sydney— when their season will finally end.
Oh, the managers have swapped puffer jackets, presumably at the request of Arnold. A friendly end to a friendly match.
Thanks for your patronage, your emails, and thanks to Richard who presumably is staring at the bottom of a bottle and questioning some of his choices in life.