Beijing, July 09: Leading European soccer club, Real Madrid will play Chinese national team here on August two and again in Hong Kong on August eight, a report said today.
The star-studded Real team will clash with the Chinese team in one of the government-sponsored 'Relaunch Hong Kong' campaigns after the country was free from the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) weeks ago, the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) said.
"The visit of the top Spanish football team, which boasts of the world's most popular superstars including David Beckham, Zinadine Zidane and Ronaldo, will showcase Hong Kong as a truly world-class city, an ideal venue for international sports and cultural events, and a powerful magnet for investment and tourism," Hong Kong's secretary for home affairs Patrick Ho said at the signing ceremony in Hong Kong yesterday.
HKFA president Timothy Fok agreed that the Real Madrid's visit to Hong Kong was "very expensive", but declined to verify the rumours that it cost Hong Kong two million euros to have Real Madrid around.
The amount of government sponsorship for the event will depend on the revenue from ticket sales and other commercial sponsorship, Ho said.



The match between Chinese team and Real Madrid is one of the Spanish top club's four pre-season friendlies during their first major Asian tour.



The Spanish team is also scheduled to face Tokyo FC on August five and meet Malaysia national team in Kuala Lumpur on August 10, the report said.


Bureau Report