Football fans in the country are set to witness some of the biggest names in football history at the National Stadium this summer as Bayern Munich are among the top three teams who are likely to feature in Singapore leg of International Champions Cup (ICC).
Bayern chairman chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had reportedly told the German media that the Bundesliga giants will travel to China and Singapore for their pre-season tour ahead of the 2017/18 season. The National Stadium thus will host one of its biggest footballing tournaments after the Barclays Asia Trophy, which had Arsenal, Stoke City and Everton, in 2015.
"We will have two games in China and two games in Singapore," Rummenigge said, during an a club event in which former players Giovanni Elber, Bixente Lizarazu and Hasan Salihamidzic were unveiled as ambassadors, as quoted by Today.
While it has been reported that Bayern are likely to play Shanghai SIPG and Chelsea during their China visit, there has been no confirmation about the other two teams and the fixtures for the Singapore leg of ICC. The New Paper reports that a formal announcement about the tournament format the schedule will be made on 16 March. However, fans in the Republic will not be able to see Cristiano Ronaldo in action as Real Madrid have already announced that they will be heading to Miami to play the ICC this year.
The Bundesliga leaders, who are riding high after crushing Premier League giants Arsenal 5-1 in the Round of 16 clash on Wednesday, battled against Real and Italian side AC Milan last year in the ICC at United States. Top football clubs from big leagues, including La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and France Ligue 1 have been part of ICC, which kicked off in 2013. The 2016 edition was played across four venues - Australia, China, United States and Europe from 22 July to 13 August.
Sports Hub has revealed that they are in constant talks with various parties to bring big international event to the National Stadium but said they are not in a position to comment about the latest development involving the 26-time Bundesliga champions.
If the ICC plans materialise, then Bayern will become the second Bundesliga club to visit Singapore after Borussia Dortmund graced the Asian nation in 2015. Also, the country could be in for a footballing delight this season as The Straits Times reported earlier that sports marketing agency Lagardere Sports was trying to rope in the Lionel Messi-led Argentina national team to play a friendly in June at the National Stadium.
