Wolves withdraw from South Korea pre-season tour

The club had been due to face Roma and Celtic on their first ever trip to the country at the end of July but have withdrawn, just weeks before they were due to depart, claiming numerous “financial and logistical obligations” have not been met by the tour’s promoters Stadium X/USG.

Tickets had not yet been put on sale for matches and after weeks of delays Wolves felt they were left with little option but to terminate the contact. Roma are also believed to have pulled out of their trip.

Wolves are now trying to arrange a training camp in Europe for Julen Lopetetgui and his players.

General manager for marketing and commercial growth Russell Jones said: “We are absolutely gutted to not be going to Korea. We’re all devastated because we had so many different things planned for supporters that we’re now not going to be able to fulfil.

“The tour was brought to us by a well-respected and established group, so it gave us confidence that this would be a really exciting tour and at no point whatsoever did we think we’d be in the position we are right now.

“We have been in close dialogue with the tour promoters for the past two months as they sought new investment, following the loss of the original tour investor, but unfortunately, and despite numerous promises, they have not delivered.

“We’ve not taken this decision lightly and have explored every avenue thoroughly in an attempt to not let our fans down, including numerous conversations with other local promoters.

“Of course, this decision is a big blow to the club from a commercial perspective, but I am fully aware of the most important reason for pre-season, which is the preparation for another important Premier League campaign.

“Because of this, we have to move on quickly from this disappointment. We have to adapt, and will find a European solution to ensure the best possible preparation.”

Jones said he could understand the level of frustration the news would cause to supporters, both those who had arranged travel and those based in Korea. Fans who have pre-booked travel to Korea are asked to contact Fan Services.

He continued: “We wanted to give our fans in Korea – both those who exist currently, and hopefully lots of new fans – an amazing opportunity to meet the players and take part in different events and activities which we have been arranging.

“We already had a lot prepared and planned for our fans in Korea and we were really looking forward to meeting them. This is why we’ve allowed this situation to play out as long as we have, but we have now reached the point where we’ve had to make the very difficult decision to source alternative plans for this summer.

“I’d like to put on record my thanks to the multiple suppliers and partners who have worked relentlessly to prepare for our arrival in Korea, and although we are all bitterly disappointed, we hope our fans understand that this situation was out of our control.”

Although Wolves were hoping the tour could still go ahead less than a month prior to the scheduled arrivals in Korea, preparation for the first-team players and staff had to be a priority.

Alternate long-distance tours have been offered to Wolves, but Jones has acknowledged the operational challenges of arranging a different tour at such short notice would have impacted too much on the team’s preparations for the 2023/24 season.

“The football side of the business have been heavily involved in the operations of this tour, taking multiple trips to Korea already, so we know the staff and players are also extremely disappointed that the promoter has let us down,” he said.

“The players will soon be returning for pre-season and will want to know exactly what they will be doing, so, unfortunately, we can’t let this situation drag on any longer.

“The focus now has to be making sure the team’s preparation for the new season is as good as it possibly can be.”