SINGAPORE, 2023, APRIL 04 – As reported by The Straits Times, Liverpool FC is set to return to Singapore for their pre-season tour in July. The team is expected to participate in a friendly tournament at the National Stadium, where they will be joined by other top European teams like Tottenham Hotspur FC, Bayern Munich, and AS Roma.
This pre-season tour marks Liverpool’s return to Singapore after their successful visit in 2022, where they beat Crystal Palace FC 2-0 in front of a 50,000 crowd to lift the Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy. Liverpool has a large fanbase in Singapore, and their previous visit was a great success, generating excitement and enthusiasm among football fans in the country.
The friendly tournament will not be part of the International Champions Cup, which was last held in Singapore in 2019. The cancellation of the 2020 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic had disappointed football fans, as Liverpool, fellow English giants Manchester United FC, and Germany’s Borussia Dortmund were lined up to play in the tournament.
Liverpool’s participation in the friendly tournament in Singapore also means that they will avoid a tour of the United States, which is the conventional pre-season plan for top European clubs, alternating between Asia and the US every summer. Liverpool’s manager, Jürgen Klopp, has previously suggested that the timing of the team’s Asia tour last season may have led to fitness problems for key players, and as such, Liverpool is expected to work on their fitness closer to home before flying to Asia in the third week of pre-season.
Football fans in Singapore are eagerly looking forward to seeing the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and new addition Cody Gakpo light up the National Stadium.
The tournament may also throw up tantalising clashes, including a potential match between Roma and Tottenham, where Roma’s manager, Jose Mourinho, will face his former club.