Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami’s highly anticipated China tour looks to be in fix ahead of the Major League Soccer (MLS) team’s arrival to Asia.
Messi-led Inter Miami announces China tour for friendly games
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Inter Miami were scheduled to play two friendly matches against Chinese Super League (CSL) clubs. However, instead of playing against Qingdao Hainiu and Chengdu Rongcheng on the 5th and 8th of November, Miami will now only play one game.
Match cancelled
The US club were scheduled to play in front of a capacity crowd of 60,000 at Phoenix Hill Sports Park in the Chinese city of Chengdu. But organisers announced a cancellation of the Miami-Chengdu match.
“We are sorry that the second leg of Inter Miami Football Club’s trip to China will not be held in Chengdu due to various reasons. We ask for your understanding,” the tour’s organisers said in a statement on Friday.
The announcement comes after the first match was initially scheduled to take place at the Qingdao Youth Football Stadium. It was relocated to the more modest Wuyuan River Stadium in Haikou.
Ticketing woes
Fans who had been hoping to purchase a ticket to see Argentina’s all-time leading scorer got turned away due to the last-minute alteration.
To make matters worse for fans, the online ticketing platform blocked people from purchasing tickets. The tickets were supposed to go on sale on Thursday at 4pm. But organisers claimed that the ticket information was incorrect.
In addressing the inconsistencies regarding the tour, organisers said, “The current time and location of the Miami International Football Club related games at the Messi China Tour Chengdu leg on November 8, 2023, schedule and ticket information are all false information.”
Following the announcement that the match would be shifted to a different venue, Inter Miami’s official website has yet to respond to the second leg’s cancellation and to the ticketing problems.
The fans vented their frustration at the chaos regarding the tour. Many took to social media platforms to air their dissatisfaction at the organisers.
