Premier League Asia Trophy

Premier League Asia Trophy
A coloured photograph of the Chelsea squad standing on a podium, celebrating their second Premier League Asia Trophy win.
Chelsea celebrate with the tournament cup after winning the 2011 Premier League Asia Trophy.
Founded2003
Abolished2019
RegionAFC (Asia)
Number of teams4
Last championsWolverhampton Wanderers (1st title)
Most successful club(s)Chelsea (2 titles)

The Premier League Asia Trophy (formerly the FA Premier League Asia Cup[1][2]) is a biennial pre-season association football friendly tournament in Asia. The two-day competition was inaugurated in 2003 and is one of two Premier League-affiliated competitions to be hosted outside England, alongside the Premier League Summer Series in the US.[3][4] It has taken place every other summer since then in order to avoid conflicting with the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship.[5] For sponsorship purposes, it was referred to as the Barclays Asia Trophy from 2007 until 2015,[6] after which the Premier League discontinued title sponsorship.[7]

The competition features three clubs that are members of the Premier League,[A] as well as a local team from the host country. It employs a knockout system in which the winners of the first matches advance to the final, while the losing teams take part in a third place playoff.[4][9] The tournament format was partly modified for the 2017 edition, with no local team participating after the withdrawal of Shanghai SIPG.[10] A fourth Premier League club – Crystal Palace – agreed to take their place having avoided relegation and played alongside Liverpool, Leicester City, and West Bromwich Albion.[10] This marked the first time the tournament featured teams solely from the Premier League.[11][12]

Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in 2003, and finished victorious again in 2011. Seven other sides have won the Premier League Asia Trophy: Bolton Wanderers in 2005, Portsmouth in 2007, Tottenham Hotspur in 2009, Manchester City in 2013, Arsenal in 2015, Liverpool in 2017, and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2019. Manchester City is the most regular participant, having contested the tournament on three occasions. Thailand's under-23 national team are the only local Asian side to advance to the final of the contest. Hong Kong has hosted the tournament four times, more than any other city.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chelsea 2003 BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Jones, Adam (26 June 2015). "Can Barclays Asia Trophy be springboard for Everton". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Everton To Play Asia Trophy In Singapore". Everton Football Club. 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Barclays Asia Trophy 2013 – Guide to The Tournament" (PDF). TottenhamHotspur.com. Premier League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  5. ^ Thomas, Phil (14 July 2015). "What Is The Asia Trophy?". Everton Football Club. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Barclays Asia Trophy kicks off in Singapore". Barclays. 15 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017. This is the fifth time that Barclays has sponsored the event, after tournaments in Hong Kong in 2007, Beijing in 2009 and Hong Kong again in 2011 and 2013, when Manchester City lifted the trophy.
  7. ^ Critchley, Mark (9 February 2016). "Premier League new logo unveiled for sponsor-free 2016/17 season". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Liverpool heading for Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. 7 February 2007. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Arsenal set for Barclays Asia Trophy". Arsenal.com. Arsenal Football Club. 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  10. ^ a b Percy, John (22 May 2017). "Liverpool to face Leicester, Crystal Palace and West Brom in summer Premier League Asia Trophy". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  11. ^ Church, Michael (25 May 2017). "Leicester, Liverpool to feature in Asia Trophy in Hong Kong". Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Premier League Asia Trophy coming to Hong Kong". Premier League. 25 May 2017. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.


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