<
>

Man United confirm U.S. summer tour to play International Champions Cup

Manchester United have confirmed they will tour the United States in the summer to defend the International Champions Cup, which they won last year.

The 20-time champions of England will visit America, where they say they have eight million supporters, for the 15th time.

They are yet to announce details of opponents and venues, but their tour is expected to last two weeks.

It will be the fourth time in six years United have visited the United States, as they look to build their growing fanbase in the country.

United played in Los Angeles, Denver, Washington DC, Ann Arbor and Miami in 2014.

United Group managing director Richard Arnold said: "The club is delighted to be returning to the United States for Tour 2015. Manchester United made history in its last visit to the United States by breaking the country's soccer attendance record and the huge level of support for the club was evident in every city we visited.

"This summer's tour is the latest in a long line of visits to the US, a tradition that began some 65 years ago under the guidance of the great Sir Matt Busby.

"This tour will not only provide the team with first-rate preparation for the season ahead, it will also allow many of United's eight million US followers to get closer to the club they love."

Chelsea, Barcelona, Fiorentina, Porto, New York Red Bulls, LA Galaxy and San Jose are potential opponents.

PREVIOUS UNITED TRIPS TO THE UNITED STATES:

May-June 1950: 12 games against mainly local clubs (included one game against Mexican club Atlas). Played in New York, Fall River, Mass., St Louis, Los Angeles, Chicago (also Toronto & Montreal).

May-June 1952: 12 games against local clubs and also Atlas, Tottenham, and Stuttgart Kickers. Played in New Jersey, Philadelphia, Fall River, Mass., Chicago, Los Angeles (also Toronto & Montreal).

May-June 1960: 10 games against local clubs and also Heart of Midlothian and Munich 1860. Played in New York, St Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fall River, Mass., Philadelphia (also Toronto & Vancouver).

May 1967: Benfica (Los Angeles), Dundee (San Francisco).

May 1970: Bari (New York), Eintracht Frankfurt (San Francisco and Los Angeles).

May 1976: Chicago Sting, Dallas Tornado.

May 1978: Tampa Bay Rowdies, Tulsa Roughnecks.

May 1980: Portland Timbers.

May 1982: Seattle Sounders.

July 2003: Celtic (Seattle), Club America (Los Angeles), Juventus (New Jersey), Barcelona (Philadelphia).

July 2004: Bayern Munich (Chicago), Celtic (Philadelphia), AC Milan (New York).

July 2010: Philadelphia Union, Kansas City Wizards, MLS All-Stars (Houston).

July 2011: New England Revolution (Boston), Seattle Sounders, Chicago Fire, MLS All-Stars (New Jersey), Barcelona (Washington).

July-August 2014: LA Galaxy, AS Roma (Denver), Inter Milan (Washington DC), Real Madrid (Ann Arbor), Liverpool (Miami).