Sounders to host Chelsea FC on July 18

Sounders to host Chelsea FC on July 18

Published Mar. 26, 2012 10:38 p.m. ET

English Premier League power Chelsea FC will play a preseason game in the U.S. for the first time since 2009.

The Seattle Sounders announced Monday that they will host Chelsea in a friendly on July 18.

It's the second time in three years that the Sounders will host the Blues. Chelsea first faced the Sounders during their inaugural 2009 season, a game Chelsea won 2-0 in front of 65,289.

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay says Seattle is the perfect place for the Blues to begin preseason preparations.

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Seattle announced it will open the entire stadium for the match against Chelsea and three MLS matches: Aug. 5 vs. Los Angeles, Aug. 18 vs. Vancouver and Oct. 7 vs. Portland. Seattle limits its seating capacity to about 38,000 for most MLS matches.

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