Manchester City To Play a Pre Season Tournament in China
By David Crook
The last time Manchester City headed to China as part of their pre season preparations was in 2016 when Guardiola complained about the state of the pitches and games were called off due to torrential rain.
Despite the issues experienced last time Manchester City have committed to another pre season tour of China when they will compete in the Premier League Asia trophy against West Ham United, Newcastle and Wolverhampton Wanderers. On the plus side that is three other sides I have a soft spot for as I believe all are quite similar to us and share similar club roots.
Manchester City are committed to playing one of these sides in Nanjing on July 17th in a semi final and playing another on July 20th in Shanghai. That game could be either a Final or a Third Placed Play off depending upon how the competition pans out. These two matches will take place before they travel to Japan to play a match against fellow City Football Group side Yokohama on 27 July.
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Given the length of time between these two legs of the Asia pre season tour it is likely there may be another match arranged to fill the void. And it may be that game will again be about the links between fellow clubs within the City Football Group.
The Chinese market has been very important for the City group for a number of years as they believe it represents a significant possibility for future growth which is largely untapped. To aid this development there have been several steps along the way. The Chinese Prime Minister has been courted and famously visited the Etihad complex posing for a selfie with Sergio Aguero. City Football Group sold 10% of its stock to two Chinese partners and this Chinese investment has been instrumental as the Club has sought to expand.
In February 2019 it was confirmed CFG had purchased the Chinese Club Sichuan Jiuniu FC and I would expect that some of their remaining time in China will see some link up between Manchester City and Sichuan FC.
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It would be wonderful to see Manchester City in Asia but it will be out of reach for most fans based in the UK. This will be a great opportunity for fans based in China and japan though to see our club and I hope they make the most of this opportunity. It seems a long time since our pre season used to be against lower league UK clubs but I will not not bemoan the changes. It is the support and enthusiasm of the growth of our support abroad which has allowed us to afford the best players in the world under the stewardship of the best coach. In the circumstances I am willing to share that!