Red mania hits Hong Kong as Liverpool woos Asian fanbase

HONG KONG, July 25 (Reuters) The fans in Liverpool shirts sang ''Fields of Anfield Road'' in the packed lower stands and waved scarves some 6,000 miles from Merseyside.

''You'll never walk alone,'' a teenage girl screamed at the Liverpool players on the pitch, before turning to her friends for some giggly banter in Hong Kong's boisterous Chinese dialect of Cantonese.

Welcome to the far-flung but passionate world of Liverpool's devoted fan base in Asia where the English Premier League club are taking part in this year's Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong.

''We want to give the message that we're true supporters,'' said Freddy Fung, 25, who was born and raised in Hong Kong but sprinkles his talk with Liverpudlian slang.

''Sometimes fans in the UK think fans in Asia are like tourists who don't know about Scouse culture,'' Fung said.

''We are real fans. As real as the Scousers who support Liverpool,'' Fung added with a laugh before seeing Liverpool cruise to a 3-1 victory over Hong Kong side South China in the tournament.

The Chief Executive of the Premier League Richard Scudamore wants to showcase and promote Europe's most lucrative and popular soccer league in its fastest growing market.

''The Premier League has a fantastic following across East Asia, and nowhere more so than Hong Kong,'' said Scudamore in a recent press release. Previous pre-season tournaments were held in Thailand and Malaysia.

GLOBAL PROFILE ''I think it's a great opportunity for fans in Asian who don't get to see their team week in week out. And it's great for the players themselves,'' said Dave Oh, a member of the Hong Kong Liverpool Supporters Club.

Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry said the Asia trip echoed the aspirations of former manager Bill Shankly who once said he wanted to see Liverpool ''conquer the bloody world''.

''Developing a worldwide fan-base is very important for a club of our stature,'' Parry wrote on Liverpool's Web site.

''It's all about promoting the club in the best way possible and continuing to maintain our global profile. Trips such as this do have an enormous impact. They are a vital part of our strategy to make Liverpool Football Club the biggest and best in the land,'' Parry added.

But rivals Manchester United are well ahead in the world popularity stakes with an estimated 40 million fans in Asia.

ASIAN TOURS Man Utd are currently in nearby Macau for one of their regular summer Asian tours and will play a southern Chinese side on Friday after previous legs in Japan and South Korea.

Chelsea too have made clear the importance of the China market as part of their ambitions to become the world's biggest club by 2014.

Spanish giants Barcelona will be playing in Hong Kong next month in a further reflection of the region's importance.

While critics say such mega-clubs are milking the region for profit, Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez whose side is participating in the tournament along with Portsmouth said these summer tours were more than that.

''We know Asia is a massive market for the Premier League, which has great interest in this part of the world, but we don't come here for financial reasons,'' he told reporters, adding that it was equally important to help develop the game in the region.

Liverpool will play Portsmouth in Friday's Asia Trophy final, after the English south-coast club beat Fulham 1-0, courtesy of a Benjani Mwaruwari goal late in the first half.

Fulham will play Hong Kong side South China in a third-placed match.

REUTERS BJR RN1520