AC Milan to play in Beijing

Italian club AC Milan confirmed on Monday it will tour China next month.

The Serie A giant will play a Winoly Cup game against Dutch club Ajax at Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium at 3 pm on May 25.

The Italian league ends on May 20, while the Dutch competition finishes on May 12, allowing Ajax to launch a longer tour to China from May 20-26.

Former Dutch stars including goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and winger Marc Overmars will be in Beijing with the team.

The visit will help Ajax to enhance its image and popularity in China and the club will do its best to send its strongest lineup to China, the club’s Chinese website quotes van der Sar as saying.

Beijing Workers’ stadium has a capacity of more than 66,000 and hosted the soccer quarterfinals, semifinals and the women’s gold medal game during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The first Winoly Cup was played between English Premier League clubs Manchester City and Arsenal at the National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, last July. Man City won 2-0.