Manchester City will face sister club Melbourne City
on the Gold Coast as part of an 11-day training camp in the lead-up to the
International Champions Cup.
Gold Coast
mayor Tom Tate and Melbourne
City chief executive
Scott Munn confirmed on Wednesday the friendly will take place on Saturday 18
July at Cbus Super Stadium, which will be the Premier League club’s base ahead
of the triangular tournament involving Real Madrid and AS Roma in Melbourne. It
is the first time two clubs will meet in an official match.
Munn said
the tourist strip was chosen because of the “unbelievable” weather and
facilities on the Gold Coast – however, it later emerged that part of
Manchester City’s contract for the tournament restricts the club from playing
any other matches in Melbourne.
“This is a
pre-season camp, the boys are coming in after a break and they need to train in
a great environment,” Munn said. “To have two weeks on the Gold Coast in the
middle of the year, it’s really the only place you’re going to get 23, 24
degrees and no rain.”
Munn said
the match was “not about generating significant revenue” as Manchester City was
already coming to Australia.
The
announcement follows a minor controversy surrounding Manchester City’s
scheduled behind-closed-doors friendly against Adelaide United at the same
venue on 15 July – three days before the Melbourne City clash.
Tate was
involved in a local newspaper’s push to allow entry for spectators and was
quoted on Tuesday as saying the Gold Coast City Council would “not give up”
until there was a fully ticketed event open to the public.
However,
Munn said the second friendly had long been in the pipeline. “For us, that
first game is the first game of their pre-season and of Adelaide’s, before they
play an international match [against Liverpool],” he said.
“We
wouldn’t open that style of game to the public, it would be not right. Our goal
was always to look to have a second game ... it just takes time to get things
done.”
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