FC Bayern can look back on a successful tour of Asia. In South Korea and Hong Kong, the Munich team was met with tremendous enthusiasm and got to connect with their local fans. However, there were two downsides.
FC Bayern’s Audi Summer Tour has come to an end—and from the perspective of the German record champions, the overall outcome is generally positive. FCBinside accompanied the team during the tour and witnessed firsthand the popularity the Munich-based club enjoys in Asia.
Enthusiasm for FC Bayern was high in both South Korea and Hong Kong. The tour was organized seamlessly, and the club used the numerous events to further strengthen its ties with its international fan base.
Bayern’s appeal was particularly evident at public events. Numerous fans turned out for fan events and training sessions. Among the absolute crowd favorites were Minjae Kim, Manuel Neuer, and Luis Diaz.
Hundreds of Bayern fans wait for the stars
The level of enthusiasm was evident, for example, at a fan event at an Adidas store in Hong Kong. As early as 9:30 a.m., hundreds of fans were already waiting there for the Bayern stars to see their idols up close and get autographs.
Bayern stood out for their closeness to the fans: Other top international clubs were also in Hong Kong at the same time or earlier—such as Chelsea FC, Aston Villa, and Juventus—but only the FCB stars took such extensive time after every training session and at all fan events to sign autographs and take selfies with the fans.
The trip was also a financial success for FC Bayern. The jerseys featuring special designs for South Korea and Hong Kong were a huge hit and sold out quickly. Tours like these are a key part of the Munich club’s internationalization strategy. The club aims to expand its reach beyond Germany and establish a lasting presence, particularly in key markets such as Asia.
However, the trip wasn’t entirely without its downsides. It was noticeable that neither of the two friendly matches was sold out. This was true for both the game against Jeju SK in South Korea and the match against Aston Villa in Hong Kong.
Jeju SK vs. Bayern 🇰🇷 pic.twitter.
com/LQHhSmeNz7
— Sebastian Mittag (@SebMittag) August 4, 2026
Even though 38,000 tickets sold for a preseason match like the one in Hong Kong is generally a remarkable number, FC Bayern has higher standards. The Munich-based club is accustomed to regularly playing its matches in front of sold-out crowds in Germany. The Kai Tak Sports Park could have held 50,000 fans. Given the huge enthusiasm off the field, it’s therefore striking that this energy couldn’t be fully translated into the stadiums for these two matches. This may also have been due to the local promoters.
Streaming Issues
The second negative point concerned, of all things, the fans watching the games from Germany. During the friendly against Aston Villa, the paid broadcast on FC Bayern TV PLUS experienced significant technical issues.
Shortly before kickoff, the club announced: “Due to technical issues on site, we are currently unable to offer a live stream of FC Bayern’s Audi Football Summit match against Aston Villa. We apologize for this.”
At first, there was no picture at all. A few minutes after kickoff, FC Bayern finally provided a “temporary workaround.” But even after that, the broadcast was not without glitches. The stream kept stuttering, and the picture quality was significantly reduced at times. In response to an inquiry from FCBinside, the club explained: “We had no picture for the first five minutes of the game because of technical issues with a service provider.”
The glitch was particularly frustrating because FC Bayern TV PLUS is a paid service. As a result, numerous fans vented their frustration on social media.
However, these two issues do little to detract from the overall positive outcome of the Asian tour. On the ground, FC Bayern presented itself as a club in high international demand and was enthusiastically welcomed by the fans. There was still room for improvement in two areas, though: stadium attendance—and providing a reliable broadcast for the many fans who couldn’t travel to Asia.