By DAN KARELL
As of summer 2013, the Herbalife World Football Challenge will be no more. In its place there will be a new tournament, culminating with a final match on August 6 or 7 in Miami at Sun Life Stadium.
According to a report from Reuters, the International Champions Cup is set to debut this summer, with the likes of Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and Juventus traveling from Europe, and the Los Angeles Galaxy representing Major League Soccer in the tournament. There will be an additional four teams added to the tournament which will take the shape of two groups of four, an eastern and a western group.
The report also states that a major television deal with Fox Soccer Channel has already been agreed, and more deals for worldwide broadcasts are expected to be announced soon.
The International Champions Cup is being organized by RSE Ventures, who is owned by Miami Dolphins majority owner Stephen Ross, and it’s President and CEO is former New York Jets Executive Vice President Matt Higgins. Relevant Sports, the public relations arm of the company lead by experienced soccer businessman Charlie Stillitano, is promoting the Chelsea vs. Manchester City game in St. Louis this May.
“We are trying to bring a bit of that Champions League magic to pre-season,” Stillitano said to Reuters. “We know it is not the Champions League but managers have told us they can’t go through pre-season playing games that mean nothing.”
The competition will differ from previous pre-season tournament’s that were hosted in the United States because of a “significant” amount of prize-money and a tournament style knock-out format.
What do you think of this report? What other teams do you see added to the field? What potential matches are you looking forward to.