By Paul Nicholson
March 17 – The International Champions Cup (ICC) has unveiled Singapore as its exclusive south-east Asian venue for the next four years. For the 2017 tournament, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan will play each other in July.
US promoters Relevant Sport, owners of the ICC concept, signed a deal with The Singapore Tourism Board (STB), working with Catalyst Media Group, to bring the tournament to the country.
CMG has also signed partnerships with Sport Singapore, Singapore Sports Hub, Mediacorp and Football Association of Singapore to exploit the opportunity of the inaugural Singapore event.
Matches will be played at the 55,000-seater National Stadium from July 25 to 29:
Tuesday, 25 July Chelsea FC vs FC Bayern
Thursday, 27 July FC Bayern vs FC Internazionale
Saturday, 29 July Chelsea FC vs FC Internazionale
The ICC last year played in China with Manchester United, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund, though bad weather caused the abandonment of one of the matches. The deal with Singapore doesn’t exclude the ICC taking matches to China and further announcements are expected next week.
The full schedule of ICC matches in the US this summer have also still to be announced. Real Madrid and Barcelona have signed on for an El Clasico match up in Miami. Club legends and ambassadors Tore Andre Flo (Chelsea), Hasan Salihamidzic (Bayern) and Francesco Toldo (Inter), who were present at the launch in Singapore.
“The ICC has revolutionized the pre-season touring experience for the world’s biggest and best football clubs and we are pleased to be able to expand the event and bring the tournament to Southeast Asia. Singapore is a natural choice due to its location, efficiency and more importantly, the nation’s passion for international sporting events,” said Patrick Murphy, President and Chairman, CMG.
Core to the success of the event will be filling the National Stadium three times in five days. Singapore is keen to increase its profile as an events destination and expects fans from within the region and wider to travel for the three matches.
Tickets go on sale from March 30 starting at $25 (child) and $40 for adults.
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