Super Eagles and Chelsea duo of John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses may play no part for the Stamford Bridge outfit in the team’s three matches to be played in Asia.
According to the Blues Chief Executive Ron Gourlay who was in Thailand to launch the game against the Singha Thailand All-Stars on 17 July, the likes of Mikel and Moses will not be available as new signings are likely to be on parade by the time the game is played.
“We all remember our last visit here in 2011 when I made two promises,” said Gourlay at the media conference on Tuesday.
“One was if we won the Champions League I would bring the team back within two years, and I also promised we would open a Blue Pitch for use by the community in Bangkok. That was launched in July 2012. So we are delivering on our promises.
“The team love the support they get in Thailand, everybody always makes them feel very welcome and in July we will be here for Singha’s 80th anniversary. It is a very big year for their company and we are glad we can be there to be a part of it.”
Singha is the global beer partner of Chelsea FC. Blue Pitches are an important part of the club’s corporate social responsibility programme with pitches in London, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, as well as Bangkok.
“We will be using Bangkok as our pre-season base,” Gourlay confirmed. “It is a critical time in pre-season and we will also be spending the week in the community as part of our Here to Play, Here to Stay legacy. We don’t just come and play a game.”
Gourlay gave assurances the club will bring the strongest team it possibly can and added: ‘When you look at the last three or four transfer windows, we have continued to invest in the team and the philosophy of the football club is based on success on the field.
“We will continue to strengthen the team and I am expecting the introduction of two or three new players and hopefully they will be in place in time to be part of the team in Thailand.”
The Chief Executive also said a number of the Chelsea players currently out on loan are likely to be part of the squad for the tour and next season.
“We are very excited about coming back to Thailand,” he said in conclusion. “The game will be in the national stadium and I am certain it will be full.
“Chelsea, it would be recalled visited Bangkok as part of our 2011 pre-season tour but this is the first time a training camp will be established there. The match will be followed by matches in Malaysia and Indonesia.”
Meanwhile, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup which will kick-off in Brazil holds from June 15-30.
