A general view of Michigan Stadium during the Guinness International Champions Cup match between Real Madrid and Manchester United at Michigan Stadium on August 2, 2014 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern and Leicester headline International Champions Cup tourney

The USA leg of the International Champions Cup is this summer. And in this fourth year, the schedule and teams taking part in this preseason tournament for European teams has been revealed.

There looks like a healthy mix of teams in the competition this year. Ten teams from six European countries are playing all over the United States as well as a few European locations from July 23 to August 13. Coming off of the massive crowds from previous years, the ICC will be heading to some of the largest stadiums in the United States. And as a bonus, all ICC games will be broadcast over the ESPN networks.

The 93,000 seat Rose Bowl is hosting once again and they will showcase an all-EPL matchup as Liverpool take on Chelsea. Last year, Barcelona and the Los Angeles Galaxy played in front of a sold out crowd last year and will hope for a similar crowd this year. Another big stadium who will be hosting a game will be Ohio Stadium. The 105,000 seat home of Ohio State will host an ICC game for the first time, welcoming Real Madrid and PSG. While this is their first time hosting, Ohio State hopes to match what their college rival Michigan did in 2014 with Manchester United and Real Madrid, getting 109,318 in attendance at Michigan Stadium.

A new face enters the lucrative market of having a preseason on a different continent. Surprise Premier League title contenders Leicester City enter the International Champions Cup for the first time and it will be the first time the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and company will face possible UEFA Champions League opponents. In the United States as well as Europe, Leicester will face Celtic, PSG and Barcelona. All three are favorites to win their league this season and will prove a great test to see how they can handle top teams from other European nations before doing it for real in the Champions League.

Last but not least, the likely Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich will be making an appearance, facing Real Madrid at MetLife Stadium outside New York City. And to cap it off, Italy will be represented by rival Milan teams as AC Milan and Inter enter the tournament. Below is the full schedule.

 

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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