EPL club Manchester United will prep for the '13-14 season by "embarking on a near 24,000-mile round trip comprising games in Bangkok, Sydney, Yokohama, Osaka and Hong Kong over a gruelling three-week period in July," according to James Ducker of the LONDON TIMES. The club will fall "just short of travelling the equivalent of the 24,900-mile circumference of the planet." The trip will "involve their players and staff spending around 50 hours -- in effect, more than two days -- in the air." ManU today confirmed that the club will begin its tour on July 13 "with a friendly against a Singha All-Star XI at the Rajamangala National stadium in Bangkok, Thailand." The tour will be "the longest in terms of distance travelled that the club have undertaken in their modern history and eclipse the 22,000-mile round trip made last summer." The tours have been "a huge cash cow" for ManU, allowing the club to "promote their brand around the world while giving a large number of their estimated 659 million global following a chance to watch the team close-up" (LONDON TIMES, 2/28). In London, Charles Sale noted ManU is "keeping quiet" about the identity of its new US$151.6M training kit sponsor, but speculation has "surrounded Qatar Airways." ManU has signed an eight-year partnership, but is "delaying the unveiling" (London DAILY MAIL, 2/25).
