Title of "Women's Club World Champion" on the Line at this Summer's Women's International Champions Cup in Portland

Register for pre-sale tickets today at internationalchampionscup.com, Tickets go on sale on June 21st

NEW YORK, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Relevent Sports Group (RSG) announced the 2022 matchups for the Women's International Champions Cup (WICC) presented by Ally to be held August 17-20 at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon. Four champions from around the world will battle to be called the Women's Club World Champion.   

The four participants have each qualified for the WICC by winning their league or tournament championships.

• Portland Thorns - 2021 NWSL Shield winners and 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup winners
• C.F. Monterrey - Torneo Grita México Apertura 2021winners
• Olympique Lyonnais – 2022 D1 Féminine winners, 2022 UEFA Women's Champions League winners
• Chelsea FC Women - 2022 FAWSL winners and 2022 FA Cup winners.

Portland will be looking to defend their WICC title, after defeating reigning WICC champions Olympique Lyonnais in a thrilling 1-0 victory last summer.  Olympique Lyonnais has participated in all three previous versions of the WICC, winning the tournament in 2019.  This year star player Ada Hegerberg will return to tournament play after missing last season with an injury. Chelsea, including star Sam Kerr, and Monterrey will make their WICC debut.

"Each year the WICC competition grows as the world's top players circle their calendars for the chance to be crowned the best club in the world," said RSG CEO Daniel Sillman. "We are honored to be hosting the stars of the game on the biggest stage and we hope to inspire the next generation of girls and boys to compete in the world's game."

"Portland blew us away last year with the club's support and the electric excitement from some of the best soccer fans in the world," said Susie Fiore, Head of the WICC. "This year we expect the energy to grow exponentially as Portland fans cheer on their beloved Thorns in their quest to repeat!"

The tournament will take place from August 17 to 20 at Providence Park, the home of the Portland Thorns. The tournament will consist of four matches played as two doubleheaders.  In the first doubleheader, Olympique Lyonnais will face off against Chelsea in an all-European clash and the Portland Thorns will play against Monterrey in an all-North American battle.  This will set up a European vs. North American final on August 20th, as the winners from the first doubleheader meet for the WICC title.  A third-place match will also take place on the same day. 

Ally, the financial services company known for its commitment to creating equity for women's sports, will serve as the presenting partner for the 2022 Women's International Champions Cup for the first time. Ally returns for the third year as a sponsor of the world's premier annual summer soccer tournament featuring the top clubs from Europe and North America vying for the title of "World's Best Club."

The WICC matches will be televised live in both English and Spanish on the ESPN networks in the United States and will be broadcast globally in over 140 territories. Tickets will be available in June on the ICC website.  Please follow @ICCWomen on Instagram and Twitter for ticket sales announcements.

RSG has made a long-standing investment into the growth of women's soccer through its WICC platform. In 2020, RSG developed a women's-focused content strategy with new original programming, highlighted by "The Fixture by the WICC." The weekly digital show is available on all ICC social channels and is entirely dedicated to women's soccer including highlights, news, transfers, and players to watch. RSG also produced a full-length documentary about Olympique Lyonnais star Ada Hegerberg available now on ESPN+.

In 2020, RSG launched the inaugural WICC Best XI presented by Ally, which is an annual award given to the athletes, executives, journalists, coaches, and other individuals who are doing the most to advance women's soccer. The 2021 Best XI list included four players – Formiga, , Alexis Putellas, Quinn and Christine Sinclair;  two coaches – Emma Hayes and Monika Staab; three executives – Nadine Kessler, Meskerem Goshime and Tom Corbett;one journalist – Suzy Wrack: and one activist group: Mana Shim, Sinead Farrelly, and Kaiya McCullough.

The 2021 Best XI list was selected by an advisory board comprised of the following soccer and sports icons:  Vero Boquete, Moya Dodd, Lori Lindsey, Meg Linehan, Heather O'Reilly, Bibi Steinhaus-Webb and Grant Wahl.

ABOUT RELEVENT SPORTS GROUP
Relevent Sports Group (RSG) is the premier soccer events and media business in North America and Asia. RSG operates the International Champions Cup, the summer's largest club tournament featuring the world's best teams in iconic venues, the WICC, and ICC Futures, a youth tournament for the top clubs in the world. Regarded as one of the most influential privately-owned soccer companies internationally, RSG is focused on expanding its footprint, creating a year-round soccer platform including new digital properties and the first-of-its-kind joint venture with LaLiga to promote soccer in North America. 

CONTACT:
Ian Campbell
[email protected]

SOURCE Relevent Sports, LLC