Mindful of the Lionel Messi saga in February, when the Argentina captain caused outrage by sitting out Inter Miami’s visit to the city, Ng admitted it was difficult to guarantee a minimum appearance time for certain players and said he “can only trust” Atletico.
Ng also revealed that government advisory body the Major Sports Events Committee was to contribute to the cost of luring the 11-time La Liga champions. He said the total cost was an eight-figure sum close to what the club forked out for their 2019 match against Manchester City.
The committee had agreed to help finance Miami’s visit before organiser Tatler Asia withdrew its request amid anger over Messi’s no-show.
“The amount is confidential, not far off what we paid to bring Manchester City to town, but it is slightly cheaper than that,” Ng said, adding that there would be no repeat of the ticket pricing for the ill-fated Miami match, when fans paid up to HK$4,880 (US$624) for admission.
“With the subsidy from the government, we won’t lose money, for sure,” he said. “The support from the [committee] lowered our cost, and hence we can roll out tickets at a more reasonable and affordable price.”
Just short of 39,000 tickets will be available for the August 7 friendly match, of which around 31,000, or 80 per cent, are for public sale online at HK$420 from noon Hong Kong time on Tuesday.
About 2,100 concession tickets priced at HK$120 will be reserved for full-time students and senior citizens, while a further 2,000 costing HK$640 will be set aside for Kitchee members.
Between HK$20 and HK$60 per ticket will be donated to the Hong Kong Premier League Committee Youth Development Fund to support youth football locally.
Apart from Atletico’s four World Cup winners, the likes of captain Koke, Cesar Azpilicueta, Saul, Marcos Llorente, Alvaro Morata and Belgian international Axel Witsel could feature, along with head coach and Argentina legend Diego Simeone.
“We do have confirmation from Atletico Madrid, even if their players are to reach the finals of Euro 2024 or Copa America, those players shall arrive in Hong Kong on August 5 after a 21-day rest,” Ng said.
Griezmann, of France, and Spain’s Morata are among the Atletico players who will play in the last 16 at Euro 2024. The others are Belgian defender Arthur Vermeeren, Slovenia goalkeeper Jan Oblak and Romanian goalkeeper Horatiu Moldovan.
Their club will train at Hong Kong Stadium the day before the match, but Ng said the public would not be able to buy tickets to watch. Instead, about 4,000 tickets would be gifted through welfare and non-governmental organisations to disadvantaged groups, he said.
Kitchee will spend two weeks in Thailand from mid-July for their preseason training, and are set to play three matches, including two against Thai top-flight teams.
The game against Atletico will serve as the official farewell for Kitchee’s former captain Huang Yang, who retired at the end of the season last month. Ng said the club would host a ceremony for the long-serving midfielder, who had been at the club since 2011, and retire his No 19 jersey after the August 7 friendly.
