| Founded | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Region | AFC (Asia) |
| Current champions | Chelsea (2nd title) |
| Most successful club | Chelsea (2 titles) |
The Premier League Asia Trophy (known as the Barclays Asia Trophy for sponsorship reasons, previously the FA Premier League Asia Cup) is a friendly four-team pre-season football tournament held in Asia every two years. The competition is contested by three Premier League football clubs and the home team. In 2011, the trophy was won by Chelsea.
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Due to the immense popularity of the Premier League in Asia, the league has held four pre-season tournaments in Asia since 2003. Originally known as the FA Premier League Asia Cup, the tournament is the only Premier League-affiliated competition to have been held outside England.
The Asia Trophy is held once every two years in odd years, to avoid conflicts with the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Football Championship tournaments.
In July 2003, the competition was held in Malaysia, and featured three Premier League clubs (Chelsea, Newcastle United and Birmingham City) and the Malaysian National Team. All matches were played in the 80,000 capacity Bukit Jalil Stadium. The final was won by Chelsea after a penalty shootout. Chelsea beat Newcastle United, having beaten the Malaysian National Team 4-1 with goals from Glen Johnson, Frank Lampard, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.[1]
In 2005, the Asia Trophy featured a similar format, but was held in Thailand and featured the Thailand national football team competing against Everton, Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers, with Bolton winning the competition.[2]
The competition was held in Hong Kong in 2007, South China as the host team by winning the Hong Kong FA Cup 2006-07 while Liverpool, Portsmouth, Fulham took part. The first semi-final was won by Portsmouth 1-0 after a goal by Benjani in the 45th minute. Liverpool won 3–1 against South China in the other semi-final thanks to a Riise free-kick and an Alonso penalty. South China pulled a goal back with a 40-yard Li Haiqiang free-kick, but was made irrelevant when Daniel Agger scored to make it 3–1. Fulham beat South China 4–1 in the third place play-off. Portsmouth beat Liverpool 4–2 on penalties to win the Barclays Asia Trophy after a goalless draw in normal time, with Pompey goalkeeper David James saving penalties from Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres.[3]
Teams Competing: Hull City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Chinese Super League team Beijing Guoan. Tottenham Hotspur beat West Ham United 1–0 in the first semi final[4], with Hull City joining them in the final after a 5–4 penalty shootout over Beijing Guoan following a 1–1 draw in regular time.[5]
Both the third / fourth playoff and the final were played on Friday 31 July. West Ham United won the third / fourth playoff 2-0 against Beijing Guoan.[6] Tottenham went on to beat Hull 3-0 in the final. Goalscorers, Robbie Keane (2) and Aaron Lennon.[7]
The Barclays Asia Trophy returned to Hong Kong in 2011. Chelsea, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and the 2010-11 Hong Kong First Division League champions, Kitchee, played in the Barclays Asia Trophy. The four team knock-out tournament took place over two match days on Wednesday 27th and Saturday 30 July 2011, with a final to determine the winner and a play-off to decide third place. All matches took place in the Hong Kong Stadium. The final was held between Chelsea and Aston Villa, with Chelsea winning 2–0, thus securing a record 2nd trophy. [8]
| Year | Final | Third Place | Venue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | ||
| 2003 Details |
Chelsea | 0 – 0 (5 – 4 pens.) |
Newcastle United | Birmingham City | 4 – 0 | Malaysia | National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur |
| 2005 Details |
Bolton Wanderers | 1 – 0 | Thailand | Manchester City | 1 – 1 (4 – 2 pens.) |
Everton | National Stadium, Bangkok |
| 2007 Details |
Portsmouth | 0 – 0 (4 – 2 pens.) |
Liverpool | Fulham | 4 – 1 | South China | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
| 2009 Details |
Tottenham Hotspur | 3 – 0 | Hull City | West Ham United | 2 – 0 | Beijing Guoan | Workers Stadium, Beijing |
| 2011 Details |
Chelsea | 2 – 0 | Aston Villa | Blackburn | 3 – 0 | Kitchee | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
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