Football fever descended upon Hong Kong this weekend as eager supporters poured into Kai Tak ahead of the opening match of the Hong Kong Football Festival, which kicks off Saturday evening.

The blockbuster pre-season action gets underway with a heavyweight clash between English Premier League side Manchester City and Serie A titans Inter Milan.

The excitement continues on August 5, when Chelsea and Juventus face off in a second high-profile friendly.

Long before the first whistle, the atmosphere was already buzzing at the nearby Kai Tak Mall, where droves of local and mainland fans queued up to grab the latest jerseys to wear inside the stadium.

One passionate Manchester City supporter, who has followed the club since their Premier League triumph in 2021, expressed his thrill at finally seeing his heroes live.

Having previously only watched matches online, he is now eager to get his hands on midfielder Phil Foden's shirt.

"He is the 'prince' of Manchester City. It is a very warm feeling seeing everyone wear a Manchester City jersey. It is quite awesome," he said.

The excitement was echoed by another fan who made the trip from Tianjin.

He had been waiting in line since noon to secure his City kit and noted that this marks his first time watching the team play in person - though he did attend last year's Football Festival in Hong Kong as well.

"I queued a long time for this jersey," he said.

"To finally wear my favourite shirt and go watch my favourite team play - that makes it all very meaningful."

Off the pitch, the festival is also delivering a welcome boost to local businesses.

Over 100 restaurants and stores are rolling out special promotions, offering discounts to attendees who present their ticket stubs.

The manager of a Thai restaurant in Kowloon City is optimistic about the windfall, predicting a business surge of more than 10 percent compared to an ordinary day.

He also urged the authorities to double down on promoting the "ticket stub economy" to maximise the commercial spillover from such major sporting events.




Edited by Azam Khan