International Champions Cup Looks to Become a Major Sporting Tournament

Remember the friendly game between Manchester United and Real Madrid in 2014 that attracted a crowd of over 100,000 in the US? Well, that was arranged by the International Champions Cup (ICC), and now they’re aiming to get even bigger.

Current Premier League leaders Leicester City are scheduled to play against Spanish giants Barcelona among other big sides at the 2016 International Champions Cup, accord to The Guardian. Leicester are among the five Premier League sides that will participate in this year’s International Champions Cup, with the other clubs being: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

Besides facing Barcelona in Stockholm (August 3), Claudio Ranieri’s men will also go up against Celtic in Glasgow (July 23) and PSG in Los Angeles (July 20). So there’ll be plenty of high-level football action in the summer, which offer great betting opportunities. Check out Bet365 Sports’ International Champions Cup market in the summer and make you wagers. Also, don’t forget about all the other clubs that will participate in this event. (Read the Bet365 Sports Review if you’d like to know more about the online sportsbook.)

However, the Foxes may not feature in the competition in the future, as there are discussions of “restructuring the Champions League,” which essentially means the friendly tournament would be closed for any club that’s not in the “elite.”

The summer event is organized by Relevant Sports, whose chairman, Charlie Stillitano, is pushing for the new Champions League system after meeting with the heads of big European sides. But Stillitano highlighted that this year’s friendly tournament will bring together the best of the best since its inception, by stressing, “This is the best roster of teams in ICC history and having them start their 2016-2017 campaign playing against each other will be a treat for both fans and the players.”

The International Champions Cup was founded in 2012, while the first friendly tournament organized by them was held in the summer of 2013. It serves as a division of Relevant Sports, which in turn is owned by RSE Ventures, whose founders are popular sports owners Stephen M. Ross and Matt Higgins. The goal of Relevant Sports is to showcase great matchups between top clubs, and to achieve that they work “closely with national teams including Brazil, Argentina and Portugal to host exhibition matches in major sports venues throughout the year.”