Hong Kong’s drive to become a leading host of “mega” sports events is keeping the football fans onside, with six top European teams to play high-profile pre-season friendly matches in the city this summer.

The football festival, which set new attendance records when first staged at the new Kai Tak Stadium last year, will see top English and Italian teams compete in two matches in August.

Manchester City will play Inter Milan four days before a clash between Chelsea and Juventus. And that is not all. A different event, later in the month, will see German champions Bayern Munich take on England’s Aston Villa.

The matches, featuring some of the best players in the world , will be a big draw for local fans who were, for years, starved of top-level action, and attract thousands of supporters from outside the city. Superstar Lionel Messi’s farcical non-appearance at a much-anticipated game in 2024, because of injury, is now a distant memory.

Hong Kong’s clashes will follow hot on the heels of another football festival on a very different scale.

The World Cup, taking place in the United States, Mexico and Canada in June and July, is arguably the biggest sporting event in the world. This time there will be a staggering 48 national teams competing, more than ever before. This has created complex logistical issues, with teams and fans needing to travel long distances at great expense, for matches played across multiple time zones.