Red mania hits Hong Kong as Liverpool woos Asian fanbase

Last updated : 25 July 2007 By Reuters
"You'll never walk alone," a teenage girl screamed at the Liverpool players on the pitch, before turning to her friends for some giggly banter in Hong Kong's boisterous Chinese dialect of Cantonese.

Welcome to the far-flung but passionate world of Liverpool's devoted fan base in Asia where the English Premier League club are taking part in this year's Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong.

"We want to give the message that we're true supporters," said Freddy Fung, 25, who was born and raised in Hong Kong but sprinkles his talk with Liverpudlian slang.

"Sometimes fans in the UK think fans in Asia are like tourists who don't know about Scouse culture," Fung said.

"We are real fans. As real as the Scousers who support Liverpool," Fung added with a laugh before seeing Liverpool cruise to a 3-1 victory over Hong Kong side South China in the tournament.

The Chief Executive of the Premier League Richard Scudamore wants to showcase and promote Europe's most lucrative and popular soccer league in its fastest growing market.

"The Premier League has a fantastic following across East Asia, and nowhere more so than Hong Kong," said Scudamore in a recent press release. Previous pre-season tournaments were held in Thailand and Malaysia.

GLOBAL PROFILE

"I think it's a great opportunity for fans in Asian who don't get to see their team week in week out. And it's great for the players themselves," said Dave Oh, a member of the Hong Kong Liverpool Supporters Club.

Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry said the Asia trip echoed the aspirations of former manager Bill Shankly who once said he wanted to see Liverpool "conquer the bloody world".

"Developing a worldwide fan-base is very important for a club of our stature," Parry wrote on Liverpool's Web site.

"It's all about promoting the club in the best way possible and continuing to maintain our global profile. Trips such as this do have an enormous impact.

They are a vital part of our strategy to make Liverpool Football Club the biggest and best in the land," Parry added.

But rivals Manchester United are well ahead in the world popularity stakes with an estimated 40 million fans in Asia.