EPL club Manchester United announced plans for a five-match tour of the U.S. this July. The team will play the Revolution, Sounders FC and the Fire from MLS, as well as La Liga club FC Barcelona in DC. The matches against the Revolution, Fire and Barcelona will be part of the World Football Challenge. ManU also will play in the AT&T MLS All-Star Game on July 27 at Red Bull Arena (THE DAILY).
DATE |
OPPONENT |
VENUE |
July 13 |
New England Revolution |
Gillette Stadium |
July 20 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
Qwest Field |
July 23 |
Chicago Fire |
Soldier Field |
July 27 |
MLS All-Star Team |
Red Bull Arena |
July 30 |
FC Barcelona |
FedExField |
SMALL STADIUM, BIG INTEREST: In N.Y., Jack Bell noted all games except for the All-Star Game "will be played at NFL stadiums," making the July 27 match at 25,000-seat Red Bull Arena "one of the toughest tickets of the summer." ManU played in last year's All-Star Game at Reliant Stadium, and MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the league is "going to be leaving a lot of money on the table" by playing this year's game at Red Bull Arena. He added, "When we started to develop stadiums, we were not sure we would have a facility like Red Bull Arena. Now this club has earned the right to host this match" (NYTIMES.com, 3/29).
KICKING IT AROUND: In Seattle, Joshua Mayers notes the ManU-Sounders match is scheduled for a 7:00pm PT kickoff and is "included in Sounders FC's 18-game season-ticket packages." Sounders Owner Joe Roth "had been trumpeting a friendly against at 'top-five team in the world' since October" (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/30). The game "will be played on a temporary natural-grass surface, which the Sounders also will use" for their July 16 match against the Rapids and July 23 game against the Union (Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 3/30)....The ManU match against DC United is included in the package for the MLS club's season-ticket holders as "Special Game C." Redskins suite and premium season-ticket holders "will have priority access to purchase seats" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 3/29)....The ManU-Fire game is "included for Fire season ticket holders" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/30).
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET: In Boston, Kyle McCarthy notes although the Revolution "will play no league contests between July 4-13, they will now face a stretch of four matches in 11 days starting with Man U on July 13." Garber said that the "additional strain is a necessary burden to bear to help grow the game." Garber: "We have to fit more games into a narrower window, but that doesn't mean we can't do the things we have to do to grow this sport and our business." The ManU-Revolution game is the "second high-profile international friendly" the Revolution have added "in short order after announcing last week that World Cup 2010 winners Spain would play the United States" at Gillette Stadium on June 4 (BOSTON HERALD, 3/30).
