Notts County to replace Juventus in pre-season International Champions Cup

Notts County have been selected to take part in an exclusive pre-season friendly tournament alongside some of the biggest clubs in the world.

The International Champions Cup will see teams including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain fight it out in front of Australian, Chinese and North American fans in the last week of July.

Juventus were set to take part in the Australian tournament alongside Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid and A-League side Melbourne Victory, but they have been forced to drop out due to other pre-season commitments.

As a result, they have chosen to give Notts the chance to represent them at Melbourne’s 100,000-capacity Cricket Ground, citing the two clubs’ shared heritage and bond stretching back over a century.

A Juve spokesman was quoted as saying: “We have discussed the move with the relevant people and they’ve agreed to let Notts take our place.

“Given that they played out a creditable 1-1 draw at the Juventus Stadium five years ago, both the ICC and us believe they will represent us proudly.”

An Australian FA spokesperson, meanwhile, was quoted as saying: “Danny Allsopp, one of Notts County’s finest strikers of the last few years, was born in Melbourne and played for several Melbourne teams.

“Also, their ladies’ team features Aivi Luik, an Australian international who played for Melbourne City, so the connections are certainly there.

“We know the Melbourne crowd will turn out in their thousands to see the world’s oldest football league club showcase their talents on the Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch.”

Another factor that played in County's favour is the fact fellow East Midlands side Leicester City was selected to take part in the North American tournament.

There was no place for Nottingham Forest, however.

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