Rio de Janeiro, Oct 31 (IANS) Brazilian football clubs Corinthians and Fluminense will compete against Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen and FC Koln in the Florida Cup in January.
The four-match tournament, confirmed on the Bundesliga’s official website Thursday, will provide the German clubs with a chance to fine-tune their preparations for the restart of the top-flight season Jan 20, reports Xinhua.
“We’re delighted to be able to participate in what is a high-profile tournament,” Koln sporting director Jorg Schmadtke said. “It’s a great incentive for FC Koln to boost our profile in the US.”
Leverkusen CEO Michael Schade added: “We’ll have two games against two strong teams from Brazil, which makes this an interesting event on a footballing level. Furthermore, the market in the US is a very attractive one, not only for Bayer 04, but for German football as well.”
The first Florida Cup fixtures Jan 15 will feature Corinthians-Koln and Fluminense-Bayer Leverkusen in Orlando.
Two days later Corinthians meet Bayer Leverkusen and Fluminense clash with Koln in Jacksonville.