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GOAL! CRVA reveals what International Champions Cup means for Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte officials revealed on Thursday morning exactly what the International Champions Cup will bring to the city this summer.

The major soccer tournament will feature the largest number of teams in its history and the first-ever women's cup.

[READ MORE: Liverpool, Dortmund to square off in Charlotte this summer]

Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority CEO Tom Murray pointed out that Charlotte hosts a professional sporting event over 200 days each year, but said there's something different about the International Champions Cup.

Plenty of soccer fans were in attendance Thursday at Romare Bearden Park to celebrate the return of the tournament to the Queen City after a yearlong hiatus.

This will be the fourth time Bank of America Stadium will host a match in the tournament, and each one has sold out. The same can be expected this summer when Charlotte welcomes two wildly popular European clubs, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.

Those two teams are significant to the thousands of fans who will pour into the city from faraway states and countries for the game, and the matchup will also strengthen Charlotte’s bond with two countries that are valuable partners in the economic growth of the city.

“The two largest international countries that we do business with in Charlotte are Germany and England, so it says something about that connectivity,” Murray said.

Not only will visitors flood the city in late July, but Charlotte will also get valuable exposure, both nationally and internationally, by hosting the tournament.

Murray told Channel 9 that hosting an event like this can lead to more opportunities and improve the city’s future.

After not hosting the event last year for the first time in four years, Murray is elated to have it return to Charlotte.

“We missed it because we think it's really an honor to host it,” Murray said. “We're thrilled to have it back. It means a lot to us to be able to host it.”

Murray said the reason the Champions Cup wasn’t in Charlotte last year was because the city couldn’t fit it into its schedule.

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