Chelsea to play AC Milan in Minneapolis this summer, says report

Chelsea will play AC Milan in Minneapolis this summer as part of the International Champions Cup, according to soccer website Northern Pitch.

The reputable website reveals that the match will be played at the US Bank Stadium in early August. An official announcement regarding the news, as well as the rest of the International Champions Cup schedule, is expected at the end of this month.

The match between Chelsea and AC Milan will be the first-ever event at the new $1.061 billion stadium and will be played mid-week.

Northern Pitch added that both Chelsea and Milan have insisted on playing on a grass surface, which will cover the artificial pitch that the Minnesota Vikings football team will play on later this year.

In a recent interview with World Soccer Talk Radio, Relevent Sports Chairman Charlie Stillitano International Champions Cup revealed more details about the upcoming tournament.

“This year, we should have 12 games between the US and Europe.

“I think we’re going to have our strongest lineup yet.

“We’re going to be in the major cities, New York, LA and Chicago but there’s going to be some surprise venues also, some new venues.

“We know that we’ve really have to had the best lineup we’ve ever if we’re going to compete with those two events (Copa America Centenario and Euro 2016). Not just for competition with spectators, but certainly for sponsor dollars and TV interest, you want to capitalize on all of the soccer going on this summer.”

Regarding player availability, Stillitano is confident that many of the world-class stars will be participating.

“[The International Champions will be] going to late July, early August, so we don’t think the Centenario will effect us at all,” said Stillitano. “We’ve spoken to teams and gotten their guarantee regarding some popular South American players. It’s more difficult to guarantee players that are in the finals of the Euros. But what we have found is that, for example, we’re sort of locked in to end our tournament around August 6. We have a lot of teams that are still in the Champions League. If they win the Champions League, we have the UEFA Super Cup which is August 9th or 10th. We have to be finished by August 6, as one of those teams could absolutely be participating in the UEFA Super Cup.

“By having [the International Champions Cup] in preseason, we’ve found that every player wants to be back. The French league starts the first week in August. The German and Italian leagues start on August 23rd, but the preliminaries for the Champions League start as early as August 17th. And the preliminaries for the Europa League are the last week in July, so what you have is a congested calendar. But we benefit because it’s not like you can come from vacation and suddenly start the season.”

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