German giants Borussia Dortmund have devoted the pre-seasons of 2020/21 and 21/22 to tour Asia, with China and Singapore touted as possible destinations.
Loyal fans of Die Schwarzgelben in Asia should be able to catch a glimpse of their heroes as early as next year, says BVB marketing director Carsten Cramer, in an exclusive chat with Goal.
“I don’t want to make the mistake to promise it, but the commitment is already given that we definitely want to come to Asia and split it into two parts.
“One part would be probably China and the other would be in South East Asia (SEA). And if we talk about SEA, the probability that we will come to Singapore is a higher one that we would play in Vietnam,” Carsten said.
Dortmund’s plans to return to Asia and Singapore at the start of the 2019/20 season were scuppered after the length of the International Champions Cup (ICC) tournament was reduced. Dortmund will eventually embark on a tour of America, which commences on the 17th of July, where they will play MLS outfit Seattle Sounders and then Liverpool.
Next Match
“Although we told the people that we want to come to Asia, we made a change and played in the US two years in a row now. But on the other hand, we definitely want to come back to Asia next year.
“Touring in the same destination for two years in a row a makes more sense than jumping continents every year,” Carsten said.
The Bundesliga runners-up last graced the shores of Singapore in 2015 for a short stay before heading across the causeway to humble Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim 6-1 in a friendly.
“If we could join ICC and Singapore Sports Hub, of course, we would appreciate playing here (in Singapore).
“But we are also looking for match opportunities apart from ICC because we don’t want to be dependant on ICC,” Carsten said.
Football Sack
Apart from looking towards bringing the teams to fans to the region, Dortmund has also identified India as a potential market, says Suresh Letchmanan, BVB’s Managing Director for Asia.
“We’re very keen to establish links with India, our partners Puma and Evonik are hugely present in the country.
“We already met with Star India, the current Bundesliga broadcaster in India, twice, in order to develop ideas and TV format to increase BVB’s appearance.
“This is now the first step, India is identified as the target market, but more or less on a long term perspective, than on a short term one,” Suresh said.
Like India, Dortmund has yet to penetrate some markets across the world, but Carsten is confident that their upcoming documentary series will reach out to fans worldwide.
Available on Amazon Prime on 9th August, the documentary provides unrestricted access to the inner workings of the club as they manoeuvred through their hard-fought 2018/19 season, where they conceded the league on the very last day of the Bundesliga."
“There are so many moments that you get goosebumps, there is a special period in the first episode where the players talk about the bomb attack, which was very emotional.
“The intimacy factor is enormous, the pictures and statements you receive, the atmosphere that you consume is really different in comparison to regular Bundesliga broadcasting matches and one-on-one interviews,” Carsten said.
Carsten has watched the first episode more than three times now and explains that it was a “brave move” to publish the documentary regardless of how the league unfolded. He cited that some clubs might only publish a documentary when success is ultimately guaranteed.
When quizzed about how Dortmund’s 4-part documentary stacks up to Manchester City’s All or Nothing docuseries which features on the same platform, Carsten’s reply was simple.
“We race our own race, we don’t race against someone else.
“Compare the colour code of Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City, we have the colours of black and yellow, City has light blue, which documentary can be more emotional?”
