Wolves set for 'commercially lucrative' South Korea tour

The Express & Star reported earlier this year that planning was underway for a first ever pre-season trip to South Korea - and now the club has confirmed Julen Lopetegui's men will head to Asia in late July.

The club's most recent international tour saw them travel to China in 2019 for the Premier League Asia Trophy, where they came out on top beating Newcastle and Man City in Shanghai.

In a statement, the club explained that trip will be 'the most commercially lucrative pre-season tour in the club's history', with Wolves set to face Celtic and AS Roma.

Russell Jones, Wolves' general manager of marketing and commercial growth said: “South Korea is a key market for us and there has been significant fan growth there since the arrival of Hee Chan Hwang in 2021, with a big spike in interest in Wolves from the public, media and football fans alike.

“Over the last two years we have introduced local language social media channels and retail lines to support the new interest in South Korea, and we are really looking forward to meeting and engaging with our Asian fans in person this summer and learning and celebrating Korean culture.”

Wolves' first match of the tour will be in the Suwon World Cup Stadium on July 26 against Celtic, with the Roma clash taking place on July 29 in the Incheon Asiad Stadium. Both matches will kick off at 8pm local time and will be broadcast on Wolves TV.

Wolves forward Hwang, who starred for his country in the 2022 World Cup, is excited to be heading to his homeland alongside his club team mates.

He added: "South Korea is a beautiful country, with incredible people, culture, food and history, and I am very excited to return home this summer alongside my Wolves teammates and introduce them to my country.

“It is an honour for me to travel to Korea with my team Wolves, I look forward to introducing my teammates and staff at the club to the passionate Korean football fans of Incheon, Suwon and from all across the country.”

The tour has been organised in conjunction with Stadium X/USG, a consortium that was formed with a focus on getting Korean national team players to return to their home countries alongside their club team mates..

Tour director Jaehyung AHN added: "Jaehyung AHN, a tour director and the CEO of USG said: “South Korean football is getting the recognition at a global level. More and more of our stars are playing in the various European football leagues and as an organisation and a proud supporter of South Korean football, we want to do our part in getting even more awareness out there.

“The European teams and fans have embraced Hee Chan Hwang and Oh Hyeon Gyu and we want to invite their clubs to visit South Korea so that we can help our football heroes give their clubs an equally big welcome. And in doing so, we also hope we can help more of the world see and love the beauty and culture of South Korea.”