The Men's International Champions Cup, which annually features European soccer powerhouses such as Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in exhibition play, will not be held this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The tournament's parent company, Relevent Sports Group, made the announcement Friday.
Relevant CEO Danny Sillman said in a statement: "The health and safety of players, staff, fans, and all who are involved in our matches is always paramount. The lack of clarity of when social distancing and shelter-in-place restrictions will be lifted and the uncertain international football calendar with the potential for European domestic leagues and UEFA tournaments being played into August means planning a Men's International Champions Cup this summer is unfeasible. We look forward to bringing the best clubs and most iconic matchups in the world to the U.S. and Asia in 2021."
An update on the Men’s 2020 Tournament. pic.twitter.com/eb8PaSaPGs
— International Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) April 10, 2020
The statement implied the Women's ICC would continue as planned.
All of Europe's top soccer leagues have been shut down for at least three weeks.
UEFA's European Championship, scheduled to be this summer with national teams competing for the regional championship, was previously postponed until next year due to the possibility of domestic leagues resuming competition in the summer.
The 2019 ICC featured 12 teams: England's Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur; Germany's Bayern Munich; Italy's Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan; Mexico's Chivas (Guadalajara); Portugal's Benfica and Spain's Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
U.S.-based games were played at East Rutherford, N.J.; Landover, Md.; Charlotte, N.C.; Houston; Santa Clara, Calif.; Foxborough, Mass.; Arlington, Texas; Carson, Calif.; Harrison, N.J.; Bridgeview, Ill.; and Kansas City, Kan.
Other ICC contests last summer were held in Nanjing, China; Singapore; Shanghai; Cardiff, Wales; Stockholm and London.
Benfica wound up as the champion.
A July 28, 2018, ICC game in Ann Arbor, Mich., drew a crowd of 101,254 to see Liverpool defeat English Premier League rival Manchester United 4-1.
The 2017 edition of the ICC featured a rare matchup of archrivals Barcelona and Real Madrid outside of Spain, with Barcelona winning 3-2 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
