Rachael Carroll, managing director of TEG Sport, the key organizer of the Hong Kong Football Festival 2025, is on Straight Talk this week to talk about how sport can be a driver of Hong Kong’s mega event economy.

Check out the full transcript of TVB’s Straight Talk host Dr Eugene Chan’s interview with Rachael Carroll:

Chan: Good evening! I'm Eugene Chan, and welcome to Straight Talk. Tonight, at the Kai Tak Stadium, joining me is Rachael Carroll, the managing director of TEG Sport, which is the key organizer of the Hong Kong Football Festival 2025. Rachael leads the growth of Ticketek Entertainment Group’s Global Sports Content, and brings with her a wealth of experience developing major event and tourism strategies to cities. She has executed whole city planning for major events, including the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. So, tonight, she will share her thoughts on how sport can be a driver of Hong Kong's major event economy. Welcome back to Hong Kong, Rachael!

Carroll: Thank you! Glad to be here.

Chan: I know you were here three months ago to launch this event, and you must be happy that it finally happened.

Carroll: Absolutely. Now, we're thrilled to be here. This is such a momentous occasion! You know, we're here to break some records. This will be the biggest, hopefully tonight, the biggest football event ever staged in Hong Kong.

Chan: I think you're right, because four of the world's top football teams – Liverpool, AC Milan, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur – are all here at the Kai Tak Stadium. Of course, tonight, they will be fighting for the Standard Chartered trophy, and next Thursday, they'll be doing the first-ever North London Derby outside of London. Isn't that right?

Carroll: It's incredible, yes. There are two incredible matches. You know, both of them have huge heritages in terms of the competitiveness of the two teams coming together. As we've seen, tickets sold out in minutes for both of these games. So, the matches have been so well embraced by the people of Hong Kong, and we've got lots of international fans flying in specifically for these games. It's fantastic for Hong Kong.

Chan: Rachael, for this week-long event, I know it's not just the match tonight or next Thursday. You have arranged a lot of experiences, you have open sessions, open training. Can you tell the audience more about all that?

Carroll: Yes, look, when the clubs come into market for their pre-season tournament, they really … It's an opportunity for them to grow their fan bases, and it's an opportunity for them to engage directly with the people locally on the ground. And these clubs, we've already seen Liverpool and AC Milan have already arrived here, they have really gone out amongst the community and engaged with their fans. Really, really important. That's sometimes doing community events, going and visiting the local academies, football academies, but also providing access and opportunity for fans, you know, if they did miss out on a match ticket to certainly get to one of the open training sessions as well. And what we saw here at Kai Tak was, you know, 27,000 fans coming to just watch the Liverpool train, which is fantastic. Also, with AC Milan, it was pouring rain. And the fans stood there in the rain and watched and supported their team. So much passion from the fans here in Hong Kong for these clubs, and fantastic to see that the clubs are really going to deliver to these fans.

Chan: Rachael, when you mentioned the figure of 27,000 people, I remember that before the stadium was built, it was 28,000 in the past … at the Hong Kong stadium before. But then in the last few years, Hong Kong football hasn't been doing as well as we'd like it to be. We only have a few thousand, maybe 10,000 to 12,000. I think having 27,000 people – that must be quite a scene, isn't it?

Carroll: It was a fantastic experience, and the club and the players love that too, you know. And that part of it is really giving an opportunity to all fans. And, you know, as we speak now, there are still tickets available for Arsenal and Tottenham open training sessions as well.

Chan: That’s tomorrow night, isn't it?

Carroll: Yeah, so we've got, more opportunity for people not to miss out on what will be such a historic moment for Hong Kong.

Chan: Right, Rachael, I want to ask you, what brings this idea to Hong Kong? What makes you want to come to Hong Kong? I know you've done a lot of work elsewhere – in Australia and the US. Why Hong Kong this time?

Carroll: Yes, look, you know, Hong Kong is a great football market. We've got passionate fans, and that's the first, most important part, that you've got a strong population that supports football, absolutely, here. But, you know, what has really been a pivotal part of making this happen has been the new Kai Tak Stadium.

Chan: Right.

Carroll: I mean, this is an absolute world-class stadium, and what we saw from that is that the clubs themselves were very much the drivers of wanting to come to Hong Kong and experience this great stadium. We also had a very supportive Hong Kong government, and that's another part of what you need to make it all work. So, when you have all those things together – the government, a strong fan base, an iconic stadium, it just makes sense to come somewhere like here.

Chan: Right, Rachael. You have visited many stadiums, say, in Australia, the US and everything. How good are we? Because in Hong Kong, we would say, we are the best, but how do we measure up to our cities’ stadiums?

Carroll: Oh, this is a world-class stadium. Absolutely. For football, and I believe a lot of other sports, would be very well suited in this stadium as well. It is absolutely world-class. You know, the air-conditioning, we stand here in a cool environment, whilst it's quite different outside, that for both fans and for the players. These are elite players, these games are very important to their preparation for the season, and the clubs and the players want to have world class facilities. And Kai Tak has now got not only a world-class stadium, but also the training ground. You know, Liverpool trained outside of the new sports ground. That's a new facility as part of the Kai Tak precinct. You've got great hotels, dining opportunities for, you know, experiences. So, all of those things tick all of the boxes. And, you know, Hong Kong should be really proud of Kai Tak and understand absolutely, it is up there with the best stadiums in the world.

Chan: Well, Rachael, I'm sure you had the chance to talk with the players, even the managers. How do they like Hong Kong so far?

Carroll: It has been a great experience so far. They're very happy, and as an organizer, when the clubs are happy, the organizer is very happy.

Chan: I'm sure, I'm sure.

Carroll: So, they're thrilled with how it's gone so far. They really appreciate the way the community has embraced them, and the fans have turned out to support them. But it's also organizationally been very smooth for them, you know, for traveling around, the training facilities, the hotels, and then the fantastic stadium – all of that has been very seamless for them, which makes them very happy and excited about these matches.

Chan: Right, you know, Hong Kong has always been known as a very friendly city for decades. So, how would you have time for the players and their manager to actually do some shopping and go and try some food?

Carroll: There will be small moments. They are small moments. Obviously, their number one commitment is to the matches and the preparation, and that is always the case. But, you know, they love to experience the cities that they go to. And, you know, the players are really excited about being in Hong Kong. And what we've seen is really strong squads coming out, all four teams.

Chan: Yes, so I’ve heard. Yes.

Carroll: Strong squads, because the players want to come to Hong Kong.

Chan: That's important, isn't it? I mean, we have been having concerts there as well, but everybody was saying that football will be the best or even rugby it’s because, I mean, basically there's no obstructions from any angle. If you look at the stadium, you can see every corner, I think that must be attractive. So, with this Hong Kong football festival, what type of attention are you anticipating from the rest of the world?

Carroll: Yes, look, the eyes of the world are really on Hong Kong at the moment, particularly the football world. Certainly, already there's been a lot of media coverage, social media, you know, have really, you know, it's sending messages around the world about Hong Kong. Really positive, fantastic messages around Hong Kong. So, you know, I think it's fantastic.

Chan: Right, and, you know, when you talk about football, we talk about the fans, right? And I said, said to you, Hong Kong hasn't had the best season in the last few years, but Hong Kong teams … I'm wearing a Hong Kong team jersey, we are getting more and more popular. But having nearly 50,000 fans coming is fantastic. And also, we have live telecasts as well. How do you compare the Hong Kong fans to those in Australia or even the UK? What do you think?

Carroll: They are the same.

Chan: The same?

Carroll: They are passionate.

Chan: Yes.

Carroll: We see the passion here, like we do, I come from Australia, a sporting nation, you know, passion for sport in Australia. This is comparable to the same passion from the fans in Europe and the UK, no different at all. And as we've seen, they've come to the open training sessions, bought tickets quickly, you know, local companies have supported through sponsorship, you know, a huge amount of support and passion in Hong Kong for football.

Chan: Right, Rachael, one term that in Hong Kong, we always use to call the Mega Event Economy.

Carroll: Yes.

Chan: This is our government's strategy to want to bring Hong Kong really up there. How do you see sports tourism helping there? Do you get many people traveling from neighboring cities to come and watch this game?

Carroll: Absolutely. We'll see a really strong mix of the local Hong Kong community, which is important, that there's access to tickets, but also, we'll see a very large … we've had a large number of ticket purchases that are coming in from right around the world, internationally.

Chan: Really?

Carroll: And they come here and they stay, you know, three, four days. There are two matches, so some football fans will be staying the whole period as well.

Chan: Good idea.

Carroll: They book hotels and they go out to restaurants, they go shopping. So, all of that flows through and supports a lot of, you know, the fabric of Hong Kong.

Chan: And so far, we've been talking about good things, but I'm sure you have some challenges. I mean, on Straight Talk, you can tell us exactly what happened and will help to solve any challenges so far?

Carroll: Look, with any major event planning, we absolutely would, you know, there are always things along the way that you need to work through. I think what's fantastic about this year is that this is our first time promoting football at Kai Tak in Hong Kong, and what we've learnt through this process will make it so much faster and more seamless in the future. Now, we'll see an acceleration of major events coming to Hong Kong because of Kai Tak and because we've been through it once, we know the stakeholders, we've worked really well together, and that's going to make it more seamless in the future.

Chan: Right, we can be a bit, just a bit more critical, because in the Straight Talk, a lot of the government officials do watch our show because we know that the guests here will be quite relaxed and tell us the truth. So, anything that we can do to make it even better. I mean, you talk about the government's very supportive in terms of the policy, we've got a great infrastructure, anything else we can do?

Carroll: Look, I think it's what it is, we can see that the Hong Kong government is very passionate about attracting events, and we've learnt now how to work together as stakeholder groups. So, as long as we continue to have that support from the government, it does require these sides of events, it does require government support, but we've been supported even from a marketing perspective by the Hong Kong Tourism Board as well.

Chan: I see.

Carroll: So, all of those ingredients are really important to have, and I think it just gets easier and easier from here now that we've been through the first iteration of this fantastic event.

Chan: Rachael, we have a quick time out for now, and we will be back with more Straight Talk.

Chan: Thank you for staying with us. Rachael Carroll, managing director of TEG Sport, the key organizer behind Hong Kong Football Festival 2025. We have been talking about the festival and how major sporting events like that can boost Hong Kong's Mega Event Economy. So, Rachael, thank you for giving us a lot of encouragement for Hong Kong Stadium, and I'm sure the government officials will be very happy to hear about that. And you said that apart from the infrastructure, what else can we do to even make it better? I always wanted to know more answers from you. Be critical, please.

Carroll: We need to continue to have a supportive government and all of the stakeholders working together. And I think there's a wonderful opportunity to bring more football back to Kai Tak in future years. We certainly, I know that many other international clubs are watching these matches very closely.

Chan: Really? That’s nice.

Carroll: With great interest. So, a real opportunity for future football, but also having a government that supports other events as well, other sporting events, music, and concerts. We've already seen concerts, very well hosted here. So, I'm excited about the future for Hong Kong.

Chan: Right, let's talk about the upcoming match, which is going to be on Thursday night. The first time you told me is Tottenham Hotspur playing against Arsenal. Why is it so special that you make this a point for the first time?

Carroll: Yeah, so these two teams have got a tremendous rivalry. You know, I hear from the players themselves that every year when the schedule is announced, the first match they look for is, “When are we playing each other?”

Chan: Is that right?

Carroll: So, it's important to the players. It's important to the club, it's important to the fans. And what a wonderful occasion for Hong Kong to be the first to host this match, this particular match up, outside of the UK. You know, that's history-making in its own right. So, it's going to be tremendous. And when we put both these matches on sale, both equally sold very quickly. So, we've got two matchups here that really resonate with the public, and we're going to see a huge amount of support.

Chan: Right, Rachael, for those who may not be very familiar with the football season, they know that the season will start sometime in September, and then they'll do a pre-match to a preseason warm up sort of practicing their lineups. How serious do you think a friendly match will be?

Carroll: I wouldn't be using the word "friendly”, because I don't think the match will be friendly. The preseason is a critical time for clubs in their preparation. So, you know, sometimes there's been player trades. It's the first time you'll see, you know, new combinations in the clubs. They take this preseason period very seriously in terms of high-performance preparation for the forthcoming season. That's critically important. The clubs also take these seriously as a way to grow their fan base and deliver to the fans that support them around the world. So, you know, this is always a very important time for the clubs, and we've talked about the heritage of these matchups. And there's heritage behind the Liverpool-AC Milan rivalry as well.

Chan: Yes.

Carroll: Neither of these clubs is taking the field thinking at all it's going to be very friendly. These are going to be, you know, competitive, contestable, and meaningful matches for these clubs, and that's what's going to make it a great spectacle.

Chan: Right, and also, you know that, I mean, all the tickets were all sold out within hours. Did you expect that?

Carroll: Look, we had … I had a lot of people advising me that they would sell out. As a promoter that takes quite a bit of risk on these things. You're always nervous. So, certainly, once the ticketing opened, watched it very closely, and sure enough, the community got right behind this football. So, it's been just a tremendous response by the community. I thank everyone that's come bought a ticket to the main matches or even a ticket to the open training. We need the community to support these things to bring more back and make it work. So, it's been a fantastic response.

Chan: Well, as you know, I mean, I'm a football fan myself, and I do buy tickets, and I know that the tickets are not cheap, but keep it at this level, making sure it is a sell-out. That's what we're hoping for.

Carroll: Absolutely. And that's really important, because the promoter wants to sell out, the clubs want the sellout as well. No-one ever likes to see, you know, empty stands and these opportunities, so, it's always important that the pricing is correct, but it's been great that we've been also … sold out so quickly that we've been able to provide some great, you know, four open training sessions as well, so at a much more affordable ticket price to ensure that it was more accessible for people to get a taste of what, you know, this tournament's all about.

Chan: Can you tell us a bit more about those fan experiences? Do you get the chance to take photos of them, have signatures, autographs? You get that as well?

Carroll: I think that every fan wants a photo and a signature.

Chan: Yes.

Carroll: And that's sometimes, you know, not possible for everyone, every fan to have a photo and a signature, but certainly with the open training sessions, they get to see very close up. The training regimen of these players, how fast, how athletic they are.

And the players are more relaxed when they're training than when they're obviously competing in a match. So, there's a lot more audience interaction and engagement. You probably have to be one of the lucky few to really get a signature, but you certainly get a lot more up close opportunity to engage with the players, then obviously, when they're very seriously focused on the match itself. So, encourage people to really get down and support those open training sessions.

Chan: Right, Rachael, you have been doing a lot of sports promotion elsewhere in the world. What would be the major driver, a major drive for you to sort of work so hard and make this happen? Is it the young people you're trying to do, or are you trying to sort of bring up football amongst the popularity amongst other sports?

Carroll: Look, we, as a promoter, promote football, but we promote other sports as well. You know, football, it's the world sport. And what's exciting for myself as a promoter and our company is to be able to take fantastic content all around the world and deliver delight for fans. You know, we at TEG believe that “life is better live”, you know, having human connection and having live entertainment experiences in a world that is very digital these days is incredibly important. And I feel that that's important for everybody. And young children, you write through to football fans, and more senior, having live experiences is really important to, you know, our life and our human connection. And so it's a privilege for me as a promoter to continue to be able to delight fans and deliver those live experiences.

Chan: Rachael, I really like your comment earlier. I think nowadays, if you go to a restaurant, you go to any home, people are looking at the iPads all the time. Coming up to a stadium and enjoying football, being with family, being with friends, it's a wonderful experience.

Carroll: It is very important to the soul.

Chan: So, can you tell us a bit more about TEG Sport? What else will you be thinking about along the line, especially with Hong Kong? Anything else that you can share with us?

Carroll: I'm not sure I can share it just yet.

Chan: Right.

Carroll: But certainly already, you know, plans are in place to bring future content, particularly to this stadium. As I mentioned, I do see a future very high level of football interest from around the world in the stadium, but I think there's also a lot of opportunity for other sports and a variety of entertainment content to come to this stadium as well. So, you know, we are already, whilst we're here, very focused on ensuring this Hong Kong Football Festival is a huge success. We are already starting to turn our mind to what other great content we can bring to Hong Kong.

Chan: Yes, let me assure you, Hong Kong has always been sort of the gateway for the rest of China, the mainland, and you can bring great events here. I'm sure people will fly to Hong Kong, and then not only will they get to see the matches, Hong Kong will benefit.

Carroll: That's right, that's right. And we're seeing that with particular events as well.

Chan: Right. So, what would be your hope for the fans as a takeaway message from being at this Hong Kong Football Festival 2025?

Carroll: Yes, I think for the football fans, it's being part of history really.

Chan: Yes.

Carroll: These are going to be the biggest football matches staged ever in Hong Kong with some iconic world global teams.

Chan: Yes.

Carroll: So, you know, the takeaway is really, you know, enjoy being part of history, and be really proud of what Hong Kong's done here with Kai Tak  Stadium and attracting these events.

Chan: Right. Will you be doing similar events in the rest of Asia as well?

Carroll: The way that football works is that most of the teams need multiple matches in their preparation for the season. So, there are often times we need to deliver other matches in other locations, but certainly for this pre-season, these two matches are the most high-profile in the world for this preseason.

Chan: Right. Thank you, Rachael, once again for sharing all that about the Hong Kong Football Festival, and especially for your insights on how sport can be a major driver of Hong Kong's Mega Event Economy.

With events like the Hong Kong Football Festival 2025, attracting global attention, we are reminded that sport is more than just a game. It is a strategic asset that can drive tourism, create jobs, and put a city on the global stage. Until next time, I'm Eugene Chan, and this has been Straight Talk.