2011 Barclays Asia Trophy to Feature Chelsea, Villa and Blackburn

The 2011 installment of the Barclays Asia Trophy, the four team knock-out tournament scheduled every two years in Asia, will this summer feature Chelsea, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Hong Kong First Division League champions Kitchee.

The matches will be played in the Hong Kong Stadium on July 27 and July 30. The scheduling of these games dashes any hopes that U.S. fans of Chelsea and Aston Villa had of them playing Stateside this summer. Blackburn had previously announced an Asia tour which will also include India. But some fans were holding out hope that Aston Villa, owned by American Randy Lerner, would play in the United States.

More details about the 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy can be found here.

In the 2009 Barclays Asia Trophy, Tottenham Hotspur won the tournament after defeating Hull City 3-0 in the final played in Beijing, China. Portsmouth won in 2007. Bolton won in 2005. And Chelsea won the first one in 2003.