IEC has been appointed to handle the international television distribution for Korea, Japan and China legs of the Barcelona Asian Tour. The Tour will be the first time UEFA Golden Boot winner Henrik Larsson from Sweden wears the Barcelona shirt and the first time that Ronaldinho returns to Asia after his goal scoring prowess during the FIFA World Cup 2002.

The squad includes Ronaldinho, as well as Henrik Larsson, Javier Saviola, Carles Puyol, Edgar Davids, Rafael Márquez and Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars, Luis Enrique and Xavi Hernandez.

‘Barcelona is a renowned club amongst Asian football fans and we are proud to enhance their global media exposure still further’ said IEC CEO, Jonas Persson.

‘We will offer international broadcasters ‘one stop’ to access all matches of the Barcelona Asian Tour and ensure a consistent delivery’.

In 2003, IEC handled the worldwide television distribution for the Real Madrid Asian Tour and recently AC Milan’s visit to Hong Kong.

Tour dates for the Barcelona Asian Tour:

Barcelona Asian Tour

Match 1: FC Barcelona vs Samsung Suwon Bluewings
Match date: July 29th, 2004
KO time: GMT11.00
Venue: Seoul National Stadium
Host Broadcaster: MBC

Match 2: FC Barcelona vs Kashima Antlers
Match date: August 1st, 2004
KO time: GMT10.00
Venue: Tokyo National Stadium
Host Broadcaster: TBS

Match 3: FC Barcelona vs Jubilo Iwata
Match date: August 4th, 2004
KO time: GMT10.00
Venue: Shizuoka ECOPA Stadium
Host Broadcaster: TBS

Match 4 : Barrcelona vs Shanghai Select
Match date: August 8th, 2004
KO time: GMT 11.00
Venue: Shanghai Stadium
Host Broadcaster: Shanghai Great Sports

For further information:

Jonas Eriksson – Head of Sales, IEC in Sports tel: +46 705 20 44 55 jonas.eriksson@iec.se

Guy Horne – IEC in Sports, tel: +852 90 92 27 52 guy.horne@iec.se