June 30 – Wolverhampton Wanderers have pulled out of a pre-season tour to South Korea, just a month before they were due to play games against Celtic and AS Roma.
The club says it has been left with no option but to withdraw and is blaming the tour promoters, saying, “numerous financial and logistical obligations were not met”.
The club said the decision had been taken “after weeks of delays by the promoters and tickets not yet on sale for the matches”.
Wolves forward Hwang Hee-Chan is a South Korea international and had said the tour to his home country “means everything to me”.
“We have been in close dialogue with the tour promoters for the past two months as they sought new investment, following the loss of the original tour investor,” said Wolves general manager for marketing and commercial growth Russell Jones.
“But unfortunately, and despite numerous promises, they have not delivered. We’ve not taken this decision lightly and have explored every avenue thoroughly in an attempt to not let our fans down, including numerous conversations with other local promoters.
“Of course, this decision is a big blow to the club from a commercial perspective, but I am fully aware of the most important reason for pre-season, which is the preparation for another important Premier League campaign.”
“I feel incredibly disappointed that we’re not going to be able to fulfil the commitments that we made in South Korea this summer, not only for our partners and suppliers, but, of course for Hee Chan and all of our fans.
“We are absolutely gutted to not be going to Korea. We’re all devastated because we had so many different things planned for supporters that we’re now not going to be able to fulfil.”
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