Chelsea boss Emma Hayes says that her side’s Women’s International Champions Cup participation is important as the club prepare for the new season.
The Blues will come up against some top quality opposition over the course of the next four days. They start the competition with a semi-final tie against Lyon in Portland in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Hayes insisted that Chelsea’s participation at the tournament is about preparing them for a gruelling season both domestically and in Europe rather than winning.
“It is pre-season and some players haven’t even trained yet,” Hayes said. “We are at the beginning of our process, the beginning of our journey to prepare for the season, that’s why we are here.
“Of course, we want to win games of football but for us, providing opportunity for everybody to prepare for the season is our absolute priority.
“We haven’t played Lyon for a couple of years, it is two top teams who are both at the same stages of their pre-season so you’ll see good and ugly bits as a result of that and there will be a lot of players used.
“We are delighted to be here and are looking forward to kicking-off against the champions of Europe.”
Chelsea are one of a handful of Barclays Women’s Super League clubs playing in international pre-season tournaments this year. Hayes went on to say that these competitions are a positive step forward for the game.
She said “It’s amazing, it’s great. The fact that Manchester United played PSG, Club America played Tottenham the other day, it’s good to see the women’s club game become more global.
“These pre-season tournaments are maybe a sign of the next steps to come in the game which may hopefully result in a World Club Championship.”
Chelsea’s opening Women’s International Champions Cup match against Lyon kicks-off at 1.30am tomorrow morning.