Aston Villa have added pre-season fixtures in South East Asia this summer, amending their previous schedule.
Aston Villa apparently are aiming to explore a new market in Asia as they schedule pre-season games in South East Asia, namely Indonesia and Thailand. It will be their first-ever pre-season tour in the region.
Villa are set to meet the Indonesian All Stars at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, on August 1 before flying to Thailand to play in Pathum Thani three days later.
Regarding the visit to Indonesia, where Aston Villa are not as popular as other well-known teams such as Liverpool, Chelsea, or Manchester United, the club seems to have its own reason. According to a report by Antara, the Indonesian official news agency, The Lions are interested in the passion of football fans in the country.
“Aston Villa became aware of the passion of Indonesian supporters during the country’s run to the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and they saw that the Premier League fans in Indonesia are potential.”
During the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Indonesia did manage to progress to the latter stages of the qualifying campaign. They only lost to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the fourth round. Football has been the most popular sport in the country, despite Indonesia winning far fewer major regional or international trophies than badminton.
Holding pre-season games in Indonesia is not exactly new for Premier League sides. It might be the first for Villa, but other English clubs have done it before. Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal have all visited the largest country in South East Asia.
The Blues did so in 2013, followed by Liverpool and Arsenal in the same year. In fact, Xabi Alonso’s men will make another visit to Indonesia after The Claret and Blue. They are scheduled to play a pre-season game against AC Milan in Jakarta on August 8 too.
During their brief stay, Aston Villa will be involved in off-the-pitch activities besides the match, which is expected to kick off at 7 pm local time. Based on reports, they will display the Europa League trophy and scout local players who have the potential to play in Europe.
The Claret and Blue have already set their pre-season dates. They will begin on July 28 with a match against Real Sociedad at the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium in Walsall.
On the Asian pre-season tour, Villa also have two more games scheduled after their visit to the Indonesian capital. Unai Emery’s men will face Thai side BG Pathum Thani on August 4 in Pathum Thani, Thailand, before flying to Hong Kong to take on Bayern Munich on August 7 as part of the inaugural Audi Football Summit.
The pre-season continues after returning from the Asian tour with a match in Germany on August 15. John McGinn and Co. will travel to Borussia-Park to meet Borussia Mönchengladbach. It comes only three days after the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg, where they will take on Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning Champions League winners.
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