By Mark Baber
January 30 – Arsenal will visit Indonesia as part of their pre-season tour for 2013 playing the Indonesian national side in Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on July 14.
The tour announcement comes against the background of chaos in Indonesian football which currently has two rival domestic leagues, both battling for control of the national game.
Arsenal have toured Asia for the last two summers, playing friendlies in Kuala Lumpar, Beijing, Hong Kong and Yiwu.
Tom Fox, Arsenal’s chief commercial officer said: ”Everyone at Arsenal, the players, Arsène Wenger and all the backroom staff are looking forward to coming to Indonesia after 31 years away.
We know that Arsenal enjoys fantastic support in Indonesia, with over 1.3 million fans connected to us by Facebook alone, and we look forward to giving our loyal fans the chance to see their heroes in action. We are also looking forward to learning more about the country’s rich culture and history.”
Indonesia has a population of 240 million and football is the most popular sport, so it isn’t surprising that, given rapid economic growth and the popularity of English football, Liverpool are also reported to be planning a visit this summer.
A number of sponsorship deals have been signed between Indonesian companies and Premier League sides, including Garuda Indonesia with Liverpool and Multistrada with Manchester United. Bank Danamon and Bank Negara Indonesia both offer Manchester United and Chelsea-branded credit cards.
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