Hong Kong Football Festival: Chelsea against Juventus ‘unites people’ from different countries

On a hot Wednesday afternoon, fans gathered in Kai Tak and outside the stadium ahead of the evening game of the Hong Kong Football Festival between Chelsea and Juventus.

Although notably quieter outside Kai Tak Stadium than the first game of the festival between Manchester City and Inter Milan, their fellow English and Italian teams still pulled in an international crowd looking forward to seeing their heroes.

Lina Kozyreva from Russia and three friends, all of whom recently had work commitments on the mainland, said they felt extremely lucky to make the trip to Hong Kong as Chelsea fans.

Kozyreva said she first fell in love with Chelsea at school because her entire class supported the team. Though she stopped watching football for many years, she recently renewed her interest during the World Cup.

“I haven’t been [to an event like this for] a long time,” she said.

When she realised Chelsea were playing in Hong Kong, it was an easy choice.

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