Empty Stands at Bayern Games? Here’s How the Bosses View the Asia Tour | OneFootball

FC Bayern draws a positive conclusion from its Asian tour. However, not everything went according to plan: There were empty seats at both the friendly against Jeju SK and the match against Aston Villa. Marketing Director Rouven Kasper has therefore announced a thorough review.

Bayern Munich’s Audi Summer Tour through Asia came to a close with a 2-1 friendly victory over Aston Villa. Over the past nearly seven days, the German record champions first played on the South Korean island of Jeju and then in Hong Kong. In addition to training sessions and friendly matches, the itinerary included numerous events with fans, partners, and sponsors.

From the club’s perspective, the trip was a complete success overall. However, there was one minor blemish: Unlike what is customary for FC Bayern’s international appearances, the stadiums were not completely full during the friendly matches.

For the 2-1 win against Jeju SK, there were officially around 22,000 spectators in the stadium. The arena has a capacity of approximately 26,000 fans. The Munich club had originally expected to play in front of a sold-out crowd.

“Normally, the stadiums are full when we travel—I won’t argue with that,” Marketing Director Rouven Kasper told BILD. However, he noted that this phenomenon isn’t limited to FC Bayern this summer: “It’s quite interesting to see that none of the preseason games in Asia this summer are sold out.”

Kasper acknowledges problems with ticket sales

For the match in Jeju, peculiarities of the local ticketing system apparently also played a role. “We were told in advance that the stadium was sold out for this game. But there, it’s possible to return tickets at the last minute—something that doesn’t happen at all here in Germany,” Kasper explained.

The situation was similar for the second preseason match against Aston Villa. The game in the much larger stadium in Hong Kong wasn’t sold out either. According to the club, just under 38,000 spectators were in attendance. However, Kai Tak Sports Park has a capacity of around 50,000 fans.

The Bayern boss makes no secret of the fact that the Munich club had hoped for more. “We need to analyze afterward what we can do even better. We did a lot of promotion, and there’s media interest, but we still need to look into this further.”

One possible reason is the comparatively high ticket prices. For the friendly against Aston Villa, prices ranged from 42 to 296 euros, depending on the category. There had already been criticism in South Korea of the local organizer’s pricing.

Nevertheless, Kasper generally sees Bayern as on par with other top European clubs that also tour Asia during preseason. “Overall, it’s a positive experience for us; we don’t fall short in any way when we compare ourselves to other clubs,” emphasized the chief marketing officer.

Hainer raves about Bayern’s special connection with the fans

Photo: IMAGO

Setting aside the attendance figures at the stadiums, the record champions’ overall assessment is significantly more positive. Interest in Manuel Neuer, Luis Díaz, and the rest of the team was particularly high during public training sessions and marketing events.

“We really went all out for seven days. We sent 1,000 pieces of content (text and video) around the world in ten languages. And we reached 150 million people with it,” Kasper explained with satisfaction. “We set a new sales record in merchandising.”

President Herbert Hainer particularly highlighted the direct contact between players and fans. “The highlight was that our players signed autographs after the public training sessions,” explained the 72-year-old.

In Hainer’s view, this set the Munich club apart from other top European clubs that were also touring the region. “If you’ve read the media reports here over the past few days, it became very clear that no other club did this. That’s exactly what sets FC Bayern apart.”

The trip also appears to have paid off financially. In addition to nurturing existing sponsorship partnerships, the Munich-based club was able to secure new deals in Asia. Furthermore, according to the club’s own figures, it set a new sales record for merchandise in South Korea and Hong Kong. However, club officials did not release specific figures.

Ultimately, the positive impressions outweigh the negative ones for the Bayern bosses. At the same time, the fact that the friendly matches weren’t sold out shows that even the German record champion’s enormous international appeal is no guarantee of full stadiums.