MLS DC United will "play a major Italian club" July 28 at FedExField in the first match of a doubleheader that is also expected to feature Chelsea-AC Milan, according to sources cited by Steven Goff of the WASHINGTON POST. The addition of the DC United match "increases the number of friendlies on that date" in the DC/Baltimore area to three, joining Liverpool-Tottenham Hotspur at M&T Bank Stadium. It also "ups the ante in the ticket-selling competition between" the Redskins and Ravens, who are "hosting the respective games in their NFL stadiums and have financial stakes in the events." The DC United match would "likely kick off late in the afternoon, followed by Chelsea vs. Milan in the evening." The fact that the games would take place 32 miles from one another "doesn't seem to trouble" the U.S. Soccer Federation. Goff noted another reason the USSF "wouldn't stand in the way of two events: money." The organization collects 9% of "gross gate receipts from matches involving two foreign teams" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 4/2). In Baltimore, Don Markus notes the Ravens "hope to get a jump" on the Redskins when tickets go on sale today. Ravens VP/Ticket Sales & Operations Baker Koppelman said that this year's game in Baltimore "should attract more than" the 36,500 fans who showed up two summers ago to watch Manchester City-Inter Milan. Koppelman said that having all the games on the same day was "unavoidable." Koppelman: "We were too far along in the negotiations when that game came on our radar" (Baltimore SUN, 4/3).
