HONG KONG – The stars of Tottenham Hotspur have arrived ahead of the Hong Kong Football Festival – The Herbalgy Trophy match with Arsenal on Thursday, 31 July at Kai Tak Stadium. The match is sold out.

The match marks the first time the North London Derby has taken place outside of the United Kingdom, and the second game in the inaugural Hong Kong Football Festival, after Liverpool FC lost to AC Milan, four goals to two, on 26 July.

Both matches sold out hours after going on sale earlier this summer.  

On 26 July, the opening Hong Kong Football Festival match drew 49,704 spectators setting a new record for the largest audience to watch a live football match in Hong Kong.  

With Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal amongst the most powerful football clubs in the world will they be able to break the record on Thursday?

Tonight’s training drew 9,080 fans, bringing the total across the three Open Training sessions held by the participating teams of the Hong Kong Football Festival so far to over 43,000, with Arsenal FC training still to come tomorrow night at Kai Tak.

“I think it’s great for the club to come out here, for all of us to also experience the backing we have from fans across the world, and especially of course here in Hong Kong,” said Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank.  

“It’s a great challenge. Besides [Arsenal] being our big rivals and it’s the first North London derby outside the UK. In that way it’s a big test. You know against Arsenal is not a friendly of course – we do everything we can to win.” 

Despite inclement weather warnings throughout the day, thousands of fans came out to watch Tottenham Hotspur’s stars tonight especially Son Heung-min, one of world football’s premier Asian stars. Hong Kong fans also had a chance to see new signing Mohammed Kudus in training tonight.

“This is my first time to see them and I am here to see Son [Heung-min],” said 15-year-old Spurs superfan Harry Wong. “I’m really excited. More people are now Spurs fans in Hong Kong than ever, and I think there will be more after we watch them play. I think they have so much energy, and they will pay a lot of effort when fans get behind them.”

The HKFF 2025 continues to represent a landmark moment for sport and community in the city — not only delivering thrilling football but also creating lasting social value for local youth, educators, parents, and athletes.

Amongst the thousands of fans attending today’s Open Training were beneficiaries of a programme put in place by event organiser TEG Sport and local non-profit CityLab HK that gave 11,000 complimentary Open Training tickets to youth-focused community associations and underrepresented groups across the city. 

Hong Kong Football Festival is proud of being an “M” Mark event that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. The “M” Mark awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolising intense, spectacular and signature event in the territory sports calendar.

Photo Credit: Hong Kong Football Festival / TEG Sport

More information about the Hong Kong Football Festival available here