Yes, the rumors are true - Chelsea is again returning to America for preseason training and a series of friendly matches in the International Champions Cup. July 27th will see Chelsea face bitter rivals Liverpool at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. July 30th will see Chelsea face Real Madrid at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. August 3rd will see Chelsea take on AC Milan at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. As a chapter of US-Midwest Supporters group and an affiliate of Chelsea in America, we have access to Chelsea in America section tickets and will be providing more details in due course. Here are the preliminary notes: TICKETING: CIA members with active membership for 2015/2016 will be able to purchase tickets for themselves and friends, including non-members, in the CIA section. These sections will be split between rowdy singing sections, and a more appropriate family section. CIA members should have instructions to reserve tickets this morning in their email. If you have not received and are a registered CIA member, contact us ASAP. New CIA registrations for 2016/2017 will not be allowed to purchase CIA tickets for this tour, per policy from Chelsea FC. Non-CIA and general sales tickets can be acquired by signing up for the pre-sale at www.internationalchampionscup.com, with presales starting as soon as the end of the month. Usually, there is a generic Chelsea supporters section located close to CIA's section for tickets. HOTEL: Discounts on a hotel(s) for each tour will be announced in the near future. EVENTS: Chelsea will sometimes conduct an open training session the night before a match. We have no details at this time about whether or not that will happen. Once again, we will have the popular "Star on a Stool" event at the Chelsea pub the night before the match, featuring Neil "Spy" with former Chelsea players/legends. Last year saw Frank Lampard, Bobby Tambling, Paul Cannoville and Mario Melchiot take the stage. TRANSPORTATION: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation and are encouraged to use our community to find others willing to travel in groups. PLAYER ACCESS: There is no player access for supporters or scheduled autograph sessions or meet-and-greets. We are not given details on where to meet players or their hotel accomodations; in fact, we are actively told to not promote such activities as it is detrimental to the team - please refrain from asking. We're looking forward to providing more information in due course. Please direct all questions to our Facebook group.
