The English Premier League season is winding its way to a close, and business is getting serious. But as always, sport never stops, and today news is emerging of English powerhouse Manchester City FC’s rumoured plans to tour Australia at the conclusion of the English Premier League season. The proposed tour would see City make two stops in the country: one in Melbourne to take on their newly minted little brothers in Melbourne Heart, and one in Brisbane to clash with the A-League Premier Brisbane Roar.
Though all parties are keeping predictably tight-lipped about the plans, it’s understood talks are very advanced, and are awaiting clearance of one final hurdle in securing funding from state government bodies. With the World Cup looming, nationally required players will be exempt from the tour, however the potential squad that would be sent out with manager Manuel Pellegrini is still predictably strong, including players such as Jack Rodwell, Micah Richards and Aleksander Kolarov.
This would be another enormous coup for the sport in Australia, which is rapidly growing in popularity, and comes on the back of visits from juggernauts Manchester United and Liverpool in the past 12 months.
Manchester City officials have been quick to douse rumours of the tour, stating their only official touring commitment at this stage is a trip to the US in July for a friendly against MLS champion Sporting Kansas City.
So until the Sky Blues land on Australia soil, the nations fans are left to sit, wait, cross fingers, hope, pray, straighten out flags, prep flares, perform vocal warm-ups for terrace anthems. You know. The usual soccer things.
In the meantime, take this chance to relive one of the greatest moments Australian sport has ever produced: 95,000 people at the MCG singing Liverpool’s iconic anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
If this doesn’t give you goosebumps, you’re probably dead inside.
Photo: Paul Ellis via Getty Images.
