Premier League Asia Trophy

About Premier League Asia Trophy

Premier League Asia Trophy History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage

The Premier League Asia Trophy (previously known as the Barclays Asia Trophy due to sponsorship reasons) is a biennial pre-season friendly tournament held in Asia. The event, which is staged every other summer, is a two-day affair that kicked off in 2003 as a result of the growing interest from the continent in the English top-flight.

The Premier League Asia Trophy sees four teams compete for this pre-season trophy. The participants in this friendly tournament are either four Premier League clubs or three English top-flight sides and one local team from the host country.

The competition follows a knockout system in which two teams from the four face off in the semi-finals, with the winners moving on to the final and the losers making the third-place playoff for a total of four games. The Premier League Asia Trophy’s very-first fixture took place on July 24, 2003. Chelsea lifted the inaugural title, beating Newcastle on penalties in the final. The Thailand under-23 national team was the first local team to make the final, achieving this feat in the 2005 edition.