Football: ICC trophy set to kick off pre-season frenzy for top clubs

Preparations for the start of the European football season have begun in earnest, beginning with arguably the biggest pre-season tournament, the International Champions Cup.

Pay Television Company StarTimes Media has confirmed the live broadcast of the matches of the 2017 International Champions Cup (ICC).

The annual club football tournament features teams from Europe playing pre-season matches and brings together many of European football’s top clubs.

The tournament being staged in China, the United States, and Singapore, kicks off on July 18 and ends on August 5 and will see the top English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1 clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, and Barcelona in action ahead of the 2017/18 season kick-off.

The highlight of the ICC will take place in the US, where two of the most high-profile domestic club matches are set to take place. Manchester City are set to take on city rivals Manchester United, while Champions League winners Real Madrid will face rivals Barcelona in only the second staging of the El Clásico outside Spain.

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, having won the Bundesliga title eight times since 2010, will face AC Milan and Arsenal in the Chinese leg of the ICC. Bayern Munich will then proceed to Singapore after their final game against AC Milan.

[Robin Toskin]