As the Int'l Champions Cup "prepares to debut a four-team women’s tournament this summer," officials are "already planning to make it even bigger," according to Jonathan Tannenwald of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. Relevant Sports Exec Chair Charlie Stillitano, whose organization runs the ICC, said that "work is underway to expand next year’s tournament to 16 teams." Eight would come from the NWSL and the other eight "would come from clubs worldwide whose men’s teams play in the ICC." This year’s inaugural edition "will feature four teams." Scheduling constraints mean the ICC "will be played while" the USWNT is at the Tournament of Nations, which will "likely deprive" teams of some star players. The opportunity for the event "exists in part because FIFA doesn’t yet have a Club World Cup for women’s teams the way it does for men." The "biggest hurdle Stillitano faces is scheduling." While it is "easy to borrow one NWSL team for a short time in the summer, taking eight is a different story -- especially during a World Cup year." Stillitano said that there have been "preliminary conversations with the U.S. Soccer Federation and the NWSL about making room in the schedule" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 6/1).
