Summit guests including football stars like Rio Ferdinand and Davor Šuker on a tour in Hong Kong. Photo Credit: HKTB
After delighting football fans with large spectator events, Hong Kong has added a B2B feather in its cap in the form of the World Football Summit, which gathered movers and shakers of the football industry at AsiaWorld-Expo on 3 and 4 September.
The Summit hosted future-shaping discussions on international expansion, Asia’s growing influence in the global game, youth development, grassroots pathways, digital transformation, investment, technology, AI, sustainability and community impact.
Football stars were in attendance among industry decision-makers, adding an element of fan engagement to the business event. The summit welcomed former England and Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand, former Chelsea and England captain John Terry and Croatia’s all-time top scorer Davor Šuker.
Jan Alessie, co-founder and managing director of WFS, hailed Hong Kong as the most strategic choice for the summit’s Asia expansion. “With our debut in Hong Kong, we’re not only bringing that same energy to Asia – we’re building a platform for long-term collaboration, investment, and innovation in the region’s game.
“We believe Hong Kong can become a bridge between East and West for football, driving growth and unlocking new opportunities for the game across the region.”
Anthony Lau, Hong Kong Tourism Board’s (HKTB) executive director, said: “The World Football Summit is one of the world’s most influential football conventions. Being the host city, Hong Kong demonstrates its (growing) role on the global sports scene as an ideal host city for both sports events and MICE events for the sports industry… We will continue to bring more large-scale international MICE events to Hong Kong, so as to attract more high-yield, overnight MICE visitors to the city.”
The industry event was organised by WFS and ASIA PARTNERS IFBD Limited, with the support of The Football Association of Hong Kong, China and the participation of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.
Hong Kong is eager to “establish itself as Asia’s premier showcase for football”. It has also hosted a series of high-profile spectator events: Manchester United Tour of Asia 2025 in May; the Hong Kong Football Festival 2025 in July, which welcomed four of the world's top football clubs, Liverpool FC, AC Milan, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur; most recently The Saudi Super Cup in August, where Cristiano Ronaldo swelled football fandom, not only in the city but across the region.