Juventus Football Club to play in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Melbourne this May

Costa Cruises, Juventus and MP&Silva have confirmed details of the “Costa Cruises Juventus Asia-Pacific Tour 2008”, which will see Claudio Ranieri's team play games in China and Australia in the second half of May.

The itinerary includes three friendly matches to be played in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Melbourne. While Hong Kong has already hosted Juventus in recent times – during the bianconeri's Japan Tour 2005 – the club has not been to Australia since 1984, when the team then trained by Giovanni Trapattoni played a series of friendlies Down Under; as for Shanghai, this will be Juventus' first ever trip here.

Juventus' forthcoming tour will be supported by the Italian company Costa Cruises. The partnership between Costa Cruises and one of Italy's favorite soccer teams will continue after the “Costa Cruises Juventus Asia-Pacific Tour 2008”: the Italian company has decided to join Juventus’ innovative commercial strategy “Less is More”, and during the 2008/09 season will be one of Juventus' top sponsors as “Official Supplier”, thus consolidating an alliance that began this season.

“We are proud that a prestigious partner like Costa Cruises has decided to renew its partnership with us and take part in our marketing project,” added Juventus CEO & General Manager Jean-Claude Blanc. “By virtue of this agreement, Costa Cruises will be accompanying us on a tour that is of strategic importance in that it will help Juventus to maintain its high profile around the world and broaden our international fan base.”

The tour is being organized by international sports agency MP & Silva, who are specialists in the management and marketing of TV rights to top sporting events. They have  been working over the last couple of months to arrange matches for the Costa Cruises Juventus Asia-Pacific Tour 2008 with the best teams in the region and at the most suitable venues.

MP & Silva CEO Riccardo Silva said, “It's an honor for us to be working alongside Juventus on the organization of this tour, which will provide a boost to the already strong following enjoyed by Italian soccer internationally. Juventus will be touring markets where the popularity of Italian soccer is expanding all the time and we're expecting a very enthusiastic reception in the three splendid cities that have been chosen. All three games will be shown on TV in more than 60 countries around the world and they will be an ideal opportunity to showcase the club and our commercial partners.”

The three friendly matches to be played during the promotional tour are as follows:

May 22 - Hong Kong Stadium: Juventus vs. South China FC
May 24 - Shanghai Olympic Stadium: “Fiat Cup” Juventus vs. Shenhua FC
May 30 - Telstra Dome Stadium, Melbourne: Juventus – Melbourne Victory FC.

South China FC is one of Hong Kong's most prestigious football clubs, with 80 trophies in its 100-year history. Shenhua FC play in the Chinese Super League, which is the top flight of soccer in the People’s Republic of China. The club has won numerous honors over the years: Jia A Champions, Chinese Super Cup Winners and China FA Cup Winners, among others. Melbourne Victory play in the Australian first division; in 2006/07 they became the first club to be crowned A-League Premiers and Champions in the same season.

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