Sydney FC will face the Blackburn Rovers, Glasgow Rangers and AEK Athens in a blockbuster preseason tournament at the SFS in July.
Fresh off winning the Hyundai A-League 2010 domestic double, Sydney FC will now test their mettle against some of Europe-s biggest clubs when they take part in the Festival of Football International Club Tournament in July.
Taking place exclusively at the Sydney Football Stadium, the Sky Blues will face the Blackburn Rovers (English Premier League), Glasgow Rangers (Scottish Premier League Champions) and Greek team AEK Athens FC (11 times Greek Champions) in a round robin tournament.
The exciting football concept will feature six round robin matches with competition points accumulated for winning matches and scoring goals. Three (3) points will be awarded for a win, one (1) point for a draw and one (1) point for every goal scored.
The schedule will see two afternoon matches played on Sunday 25 July, two night matches on Wednesday 28 July and two further night matches on Saturday 31 July.
Sunday 25 July:
Game 1 at 12:45pm – Sydney FC v AEK Athens FC
Game 2 at 3pm – Blackburn Rovers v Glasgow Rangers
Wednesday 28 July:
Game 3 at 6pm – AEK Athens FC v Blackburn Rovers
Game 4 at 8:15pm – Sydney FC v Glasgow Rangers
Saturday 31 July:
Game 5 at 5pm – AEK Athens FC v Glasgow Rangers
Game 6 at 7:15pm – Sydney FC v Blackburn Rovers
And the good news doesn-t stop there – with tickets starting at just $29. Each ticket is valid for both games on that specific day and are available from Ticketek.
All current Sydney FC members will also receive discounted ticketing. On sale dates will be confirmed soon.
“This inaugural tournament is the first of what will be an annual tournament in Sydney to attract global football brands each and every year,” said Kristina Keneally, NSW Premier.
“There is no secret Sydney wants to hold the World Cup final and this event will make a strong statement about Sydney as Australia-s home of Football. I would like to extend an invitation to the Scottish, English and Greek communities located across Australia. Book a ticket to Sydney and cheer on your teams.”
Sydney FC CEO Edwin Lugt said the new tournament is a great addition to the Sydney sporting calendar.
“We have agreed with the promoter to be able to provide 2010/11 Sydney FC members with discounted ticketing for this tournament. We have a sensational line-up of preseason fixtures confirmed. This tournament is massive for our fans. The fact that we are A-League champions on top of playing such strong European opposition at our home ground is fantastic,” Lugt said.
“It-s a credit to the NSW Government for supporting this tournament and we are very excited to watch it grow.”
Lugt was joined by Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka, players Alex Brosque, Terry McFlynn and Liam Reddy, Events NSW CEO Geoff Parmenter, FFA CEO Ben Buckley and SCG Trust CEO Jamie Barkley at this morning-s launch.
