Manchester City and Chelsea missing stars for Hong Kong Football Festival

Manchester City and Chelsea have confirmed their touring squads for next week’s Hong Kong Football Festival, with several marquee players missing due to post-World Cup rest rules, prompting some fan pushback over ticket value.

City’s 28-man squad excludes Erling Haaland, Rodri, Rayan Cherki and new signing Elliot Anderson, all entitled to a mandatory rest period under FIFA rules after their countries advanced deep into the World Cup. Phil Foden and Gianluigi Donnarumma are among those who are travelling. Chelsea’s squad is missing captain Reece James and Enzo Fernandez for the same reason, though Cole Palmer and João Pedro are making the trip.

City also held a fan event at Hong Kong’s harbourfront this week to unveil next season’s away kit, featuring a floating five-a-side pitch and appearances from current players.

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The absences have drawn some fan criticism, and organisers have already cut prices on other festival-adjacent fixtures, including the separate Bayern Munich versus Aston Villa match, where top tier tickets dropped from HK$2,688 to HK$1,688 after fans said the lack of expected stars made attending poor value.

Rosanna Law, Hong Kong’s sports and tourism secretary, defended the lineups, saying organisers tried to negotiate player appearances in advance but that FIFA’s rest rules made full squads unrealistic this year. Festival organiser TEG Sport said it could not guarantee every club would field every player, citing the unpredictability created by this year’s World Cup calendar.

The Hong Kong Football Festival runs from 31 July to 5 August at Kai Tak Stadium, with City facing Inter Milan on 1 August and Chelsea meeting Juventus on 5 August.