Enjoy Sam Bisby’s guest post (for Axiafx.co.uk) detailing some great sporting events in the Far East.

Witnessing a great sporting event whilst abroad is a bit of a dream scenario for anybody who follows a team, athlete or sport as a whole (I know for me it certainly is) and Asia is fast becoming a hub of sporting activity for all interests.

Thanks to its increasing capacity to be a highly profitable market for sports teams and organisations, Asia is often a hive of commotion when the summer comes around and the big events arrive upon the Far East.

Football

Because of the highly profitable nature of Asia, more and more football outfits plan their summer pre-season friendlies over in Asia and some of the biggest teams make sure they make the trip east almost every July to get fit for the new campaign that arrives in August.

Arsenal are such a club and have organised three games over in Asia during July, kicking off with a trip to Malaysia and a match against a side made up of the countries’ best players. Then comes a game that will have all the locals fighting to get tickets when the Gunners face fellow Premier League side and current top-flight champions Manchester City at Beijing’s famous Olympic ‘Bird Nest’ stadium. The tour is rounded off with a match in the centre of Hong Kong against Kitchee SC.

Manchester City will also face the Malaysia XI side at the end of July as part of a smaller tour of the region. City’s neighbours Manchester United will also come onto the scene for a one-off game against Didier Drogba’s new side Shanghai Shenhua on 25 July.

Birdsnest Stadium Beijing – Photo by Francisco Diez

Formula 1

As part of Bernie Ecclestone’s bid to broaden one of the most glamorous sports, Formula 1 has been growing within the Asian market in recent years. One of the most recent races to be added to the calendar in this part of the world is the Singapore Grand Prix – the first ever night race in F1.

Racing around the marina under a flood-lit blanket of light, the world’s top drivers are given the challenge of a tough street circuit and is one event where everybody is guaranteed to be bowled over by the spectacle that takes place at the end of September.

But it’s not all about the racing, the Singapore circuit will also be host to 46 musical artists that include some of the biggest acts of the moment including Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds over the course of the race weekend.

This is something that really needs budgeting for, however, as a ticket for the weekend will start at just over £300 and rise to well over £1000 if you’re after something a little special.  Money to spend whilst your there is also a main consideration and checking the foreign exchange market with Axia FX could help.

Singapore Grand Prix – Photo by LGEPR

Tennis

The ATP World Tour has added a new element to the traditional format of the four Grand Slams or majors as they’re also known.

Four low-key competitions begin a run of five tournamentson the tour in Asia that also span across Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Tokyo, before Shanghai hosts the headline Masters 1000 event.

Anybody able to get to these tournaments in September and October will be able to see the top tennis players on the planet as they battle for world ranking places, as well as good form for the tour final that takes place at the O2 arena in London at the end of the year.

Roger Federer – Photo by Boss Tweed

By Sam Bisby of Axia FX rates of exchange services.