French season-opening Champions Trophy to be played in Bangkok

The French Champions Trophy, the traditional curtain-raiser to the Ligue 1 season, will this year be played in the Thai capital, Bangkok, on August 5, the French league (LFP) announced on Thursday.

The last two editions have been staged in Israel -- with Paris Saint-Germain beating Nantes in Tel Aviv last July -- but the move to Thailand comes with the LFP keen to further open up to the Asian market.

Over the last decade, the match has also been staged three times in China.

This year's game will take place at the Rajamangala national stadium, a week before the 2023/24 Ligue 1 season gets under way.

The match pits the Ligue 1 champions against the winners of the French Cup and has been won by PSG in nine of the last 10 years.