FC Bayern enjoy friendly wins, record reach and closeness to fans

Six highly intensive days ended with a triumphant Bayern victory and the first trophy of the season: FC Bayern defeated Europa League winners Aston Villa 2-1 in Hong Kong in their hardest season of pre-season so far. In front of a crowd of 38,176 enthusiastic spectators at the high-tech and air-conditioned Kai Tak Stadium, the German double winners dominated the play in the Audi Football Summit against the Premier League, moving the ball around as well as they could on the difficult surface and creating chances. Two of these were converted, first by Minjae Kim with a header (37’) and then by Luis Díaz (73’) with a sublime strike, which rang down the curtain on the match and on a hugely successful 10th Audi Summer Tour. João Gomes’ goal back for Villa proved too late as Manuel Neuer produced a sensational relfex save from Tammy Abraham’s header shortly before the end.

The week’s tour of Asia had already impressively demonstrated how FC Bayern combines sport, closeness to fans and social responsibility. The trip served to "thrill local fans, forge and deepen connections, and showcase FC Bayern and everything that matters to us," said Herbert Hainer at the final press conference. The FC Bayern president particularly highlighted the fact that players signed autographs and posed for selfies after open training sessions in Asia – "no other club did that," Hainer noted. The same applied after the pre-season match against Aston Villa, immediately before the flight home to Munich. "We want to be approachable, not just images on television. We want to be felt, not just seen,” added Hainer.

Huge digital reach

At the same time, FC Bayern leveraged and further expanded the massive digital reach of its own media channels: over 1,000 pieces of content in ten languages ​​were published during the tour, 20 player-focused productions were created, and the content reached a total of 150 million people, generating 70 million video views alone. In Korea, the club gained over a million new followers in just three days. Rouven Kasper, board member for marketing and sales, put these figures into perspective: "We have 560 million followers in Asia alone – eight million in Korea and over 140 million in China. We have fan community managers based in these countries – no other club does that. It creates a completely different level of fan engagement." Kasper also emphasised: "We really delivered something special together, not just in terms of the sheer number of events, but also how we executed them: keeping them close to the fans and making them a tangible experience. That is what set us apart from all other clubs."

Kompany gives positive assessment

Head coach Vincent Kompany was also pleased with how the Audi Summer Tour has gone. “I’m impressed,” he stated after the match against Villa. “We know who’s here and who isn’t. We always want to demonstrate what Bayern are about. When I look at how the young players have performed, that pleases me a lot. Overall all the players did very well.”

In its activities, Bayern has put an emphasis on local authenticity and creative collaborations – from the Hypebeast collaboration for the special shirt designs, which completely sold out and generated record sales, to campaigns with K-pop artists, Korean YouTubers, TV hosts and local artists, as well as Kompany’s visit to a traditional Jeju tangarine farm. “The way we engage with people across cultures – no other club does that, which makes us proud," Kasper summarised. FC Bayern also fostered a special sense of closeness in Hong Kong – for instance, by being the only club to communicate with locals in Cantonese on the Threads platform.

Foundation built in Asia

Board member for sport Max Eberl highlighted that they’d also successfully managed the balancing act between an intensive tour and sporting preparation. “The matches and the training are the fundamental elements for us,” he said. “The sport should always be on an equal footing with the other goals we have, which we’ve achieved.” His summary: “You feel it in the whole club: there’s a great togetherness. Ultimately that’s what defines a club, it’s the only way to be successful. That’s why trips like this are hugely important in strengthening the bond between the team and everyone around.”

There were similar words a year ago, when the trip to the USA for the Club World Cup formed the basis of an extremely strong season. FC Bayern want to build on that momentum again – this time from Asia.