KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two European soccer powers are coming to Kansas City, Missouri.
Arrowhead Events announced Wednesday that German soccer powerhouse FC Bayern Munich will face Italian Serie A power AC Milan as part of the International Champions Cup on July 23 at Arrowhead Stadium.
Bayern Munich — which has won Germany’s top division, the Bundesliga, a record 28 times — accepted an invitation from Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt to play an exhibition game at Arrowhead Stadium.
“I’m very pleased that we will be able to host FC Bayern at Arrowhead to not only help promote international soccer in Kansas City, but also offer soccer fans the opportunity to see one of the world’s premier clubs up close,” Hunt said. “For us, this represents another landmark moment in our partnership.”
Kansas City is a finalist to be a host venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
The game marks the first featuring a European soccer power at Arrowhead Stadium since 2010, when the then-Kansas City Wizards upset Manchester United in a friendly.
“I just had the privilege of traveling to Munich and watching FC Bayern in Allianz Arena again, and I am always amazed by the incredible atmosphere and fan culture around FC Bayern,” Hunt said. “We are very familiar with the intense passion of sports fans in Kansas City, and that includes a continually expanding interest in soccer.”
Hunt — whose father, Lamar, founded Sporting Kansas City as the Kansas City Wiz in 1995 — is the chairman and CEO of Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas, which partnered with Bayern Munich for a player development program last year.
“The Hunt family are not only pioneers in American sports, but they are also part of the FC Bayern family,” Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement. “We are delighted to accept their invitation and it will be an honor for us to play at the home of the Kansas City Chiefs this summer.”
This will be the first visit to Kansas City for both clubs. Bayern Munich has previously played in Miami, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Charlotte and Portland on U.S. tours, while 18-time Serie A champions AC Milan have previously played in New York, Miami, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Chicago, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles during previous International Champions Cup tours.
“We are proud to once again have a team of FC Bayern’s caliber headlining the International Champions Cup,” Relevent Sports Group Executive Chairman Charlie Stillitano said in a statement. “FC Bayern always embraces the opportunity to interact with American fans and I look forward to seeing how the loyal sports fans in Kansas City rally behind them this summer.”
Match time will be announced April 9, when tickets for the game go on sale.
To register for tickets, visit the website for Bayern Munich’s 2019 U.S. tour.
In addition to the Manchester United friendly, Arrowhead Stadium previously has hosted the U.S. Women’s National Team, the U.S. Men’s National Team for a 2001 World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica, top Mexican clubs Club Deportivo Guadalajara and Club America. And an international friendly between Mexico and Paraguay.
