English power Chelsea to play in Seattle on July 18

TUKWILA, Wash. – 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.

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.