Audi Football Summit 2026: Bayern Munich and Aston Villa to Face Off in Hong Kong This August!

Speech by SCST at Audi Football Summit 2026 announcement press conference

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, at the Audi Football Summit 2026 announcement press conference today (April 21):

Mr Zhou Quanqing (Managing Director of KuoKai Sports), Mr Brian Yeung (Managing Director of Scramble Events), Mr Eric Fok (Chairman of the Football Association of Hong Kong, China), Mr Rouven Kasper (Chief Marketing and Sales Officer and Board Member of FC Bayern Müchen), Mr Ben Hatton (Chief Operations Officer of Aston Villa FC), legends Stefan (Legend of FC Bayern München Mr Stefan Effenberg) and Alan (Legend of Aston Villa FC Mr Alan McInally), media friends, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening, everyone. It is wonderful to see you all here at this press conference. For at least some of you, we are actually meeting the second time in the same day - having gathered this morning to celebrate the launch of another spectacular premier football event here in Hong Kong. And now we have more, and if you have a particular fondness for German football, you might actually say that we are saving the best for last.

We are immensely proud to welcome two of Europe's most formidable clubs to Hong Kong for the Audi Football Summit 2026, taking place this August: Bayern München, or more familiar to us, Bayern Munich from Germany, and Aston Villa from the English Premier League (EPL). I would say this is a long overdue return for both teams. It has been nearly 20 years since Bayern last played here, and 15 for Aston Villa.

What makes this even more exciting is that both teams are in outstanding form. Already crowned champions of the Bundesliga with four rounds to go, Bayern Munich produced a thrilling comeback to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals just a few days ago. Aston Villa, meanwhile, is enjoying a fantastic season - currently sitting among the top four in the Premier League and recently securing a powerful 4-0 victory in the Europa League. So the Audi Football Summit promises to be a truly amazing encounter of the giants.

As I mentioned this morning, our Kai Tak Sports Park, and in particular Kai Tak Stadium has become the preferred venue for pre-season games of top international football clubs, as well as many other major international sporting and entertainment events. Indeed, as Aston Villa coming our way, the top six EPL clubs will all have appeared in Kai Tak Stadium. I sincerely hope that for both the teams and fans travelling from abroad, you will also find time to enjoy the many tourism offerings in Hong Kong while you are here. My colleagues at the Hong Kong Tourism Board are certainly ready to offer ideas - and that experience could start right now with the legendary players from both teams, who have flown in specially to support this exciting launch.

Before I close, I would also like to thank KuoKai Sports and Scramble Events for bringing the Audi Football Summit to Hong Kong. And I look forward to seeing everyone at Kai Tak Stadium on August 7.

Thank you very much.

Hong Kong Customs combats unfair trade practices at medicine shop

Hong Kong Customs today (April 21) arrested a salesmen of a medicine shop suspected of engaging in unfair trade practices involving a misleading omission in the course of selling Chinese herbal medicine, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

A Customs officer, disguised as a customer, conducted a test-buy operation at a medicine shop in Mong Kok this afternoon. A salesman was suspected of providing untimely material information about the pricing unit of the Chinese herbal medicine. After the product was ground into powder, he revealed that the Chinese herbal medicine was priced per mace, resulting in a price difference 160 times higher compared to the expected per-catty pricing. Customs officers then arrested the 25-year-old salesman.

An investigation is ongoing and the arrested man was held for inquiry.

Customs has long been concerned about visitors being misled to make purchases by unfair trade practices and has established a Quick Response Team to handle urgent complaints lodged by short-haul visitors. The complaints will be promptly referred to investigators to handle with priority.

With the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland approaching, Customs will continue to step up inspections and enforcements to vigorously combat unfair trade practices.

Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to purchase products from reputable shops. Consumers should also be cautious about unit prices and ask for more information, including the total price of the goods selected before making a purchase decision.

Under the TDO, any trader who engages in a commercial practice that omits or hides material information or provides material information in a manner that is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely, and as a result causes, or is likely to cause, an average consumer to make a transactional decision, commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk)or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Source: AI-found images