Chelsea are expected to travel to Singapore to compete in the 2017 International Champions Cup (ICC) alongside European traditional powerhouses Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
After months of speculation, ICC organizers Relevent Sports and Catalyst Media Group (CMG) confirmed in a press conference yesterday that the ICC will be held at the 55,000-seater National Stadium from July 25 to 29.
This is the first time that the prestigious club exhibition pre-season tournament visits the South East Asia region since its 2013 establishment.
China and Australia are the ICC’s only other Asia-Pacific venues to date, and this year’s ICC will travel to China, Miami, and New York.
Other superstars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could visit in the future, as the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has signed a four-year deal with CMG to be the ICC’s only stop in South East Asia from 2017 to 2020. The long-term commitment is the first of its kind for the ICC, which has no formal deals with any other stop on its calendar.
The ICC’s three-team, round-robin format could see a different line-up each year. That means that Singaporean and South East Asian fans could see the likes of Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid in the coming years.
Chelsea and Bayern will play the opening match on Tuesday, 25 July. Bayern will take on Inter two days later, on Thursday, 27 July. The closing match will be played on Saturday, 29 July when two former Champions League winners Chelsea and Inter will face each other.