By DAN KARELL
Two weeks after announcing the participants of the 2014 International Champions Cup, the competition’s organizers have provided additional details for this summer’s tournament.
The ICC has placed Manchester United with Real Madrid, AS Roma, and Inter Milan in Group A, and Manchester City with Liverpool, Olympiacos, and AC Milan in Group B. Matches will take place in 13 cities across the U.S. between July 24-August 4. Venues confirmed so far include Yankee Stadium in New York, Soldier Field in Chicago, University of Phoenix Stadium in Phoenix, and Sun Life Stadium in Miami.
The winner of Group A will play the winner of Group B in Miami on August 4.
Venues for two games have yet to be determined: AC Milan vs. Olympiacos on July 24, and Real Madrid vs. Manchester United on August 2. A number of reports are placing the former game at Citi Field in New York, while the latter match has been rumored to be played at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., capable of seating nearly 110,000.
This schedule comes with a caveat. If any of these clubs miss out on UEFA Champions League qualification and are instead in the Europa League (Man United, Liverpool, and AC Milan are all possibilities), the clubs would have to pull out of the tournament due to qualification matches in late July and early August in Europe.
Here’s a look at the schedule for the 2014 International Champions Cup:
GROUP A
July 26 – Real Madrid vs. Inter Milan – University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix
July 26 – Manchester United vs. AS Roma – Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium, Denver
July 29 – Manchester United vs. Inter Milan – FedEx Field, Washington D.C./Landover, Mary.
July 29 – Real Madrid vs. AS Roma – Cotton Bowl, Dallas
August 2 – Inter Milan vs. AS Roma – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
August 2 – Real Madrid vs. Manchester United – TBD
GROUP B
July 24 – AC Milan vs. Olympiacos – TBD
July 27 – AC Milan vs. Manchester City – Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
July 27 – Liverpool vs. Olympiacos – Soldier Field, Chicago
July 30 – Manchester City vs. Liverpool – Yankee Stadium, New York
August 2 – Olympiacos vs. Manchester City – TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
August 2 – AC Milan vs. Liverpool – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
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What do you think of this schedule? Do you plan on attending any of these matches? Do you expect any teams to pull out because they are in next season’s Europa League?
Share your thoughts below.