Manchester United comes to Perth for 10-day, 2-match stay

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Manchester United has arrived in Perth for a 10-day visit that includes two friendlies, a corporate golf day and a soccer clinic with disadvantaged children.

State government officials expect about 20,000 fans of the world’s most famous soccer team to follow.

The English Premier League team arrived Monday ahead of its first match on Saturday against the A-League’s Perth Glory. On July 17, Leeds United will be the opposition at the same Perth Stadium.

On Tuesday, Manchester United’s Twitter feed showed players signing autographs at the airport and others walking around the Western Australian state capital.

State officials said that the team will also participate in a training session in front of about 14,000 fans, attend a dinner at the stadium and appear at other corporate functions.

Premier Mark McGowan said most of the tourists expected in the city are from Britain.

“They won’t just watch the soccer. They’ll go shopping, they’ll go to restaurants, they may well have a holiday around WA,” McGowan said.

He would not disclose what the state government paid to bring the team to the city.

“You don’t reveal what you bid or what you pay because then you give a competitive advantage to your competitors when you bid for something else,” he said. “So these things are always kept relatively secret.”