According to reports in Japan, J1 League officials “are making adjustments” to allow for the exhibition matches to be played late July during a short break in the Japanese top-flight's calendar. There have currently been six rounds of matches played. After July 15, there is a three-week pause.

The new Scottish Premiership campaign doesn't begin until the weekend of August 5 and, providing Celtic retain this year’s title, they will qualify for the Champions League group stages which begin in September, meaning they won’t be involved in any qualifying rounds.

Celtic are expected to be joined by Manchester City, while there have been previous reports regarding Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain's involvement. The English Premier League side played against Japanese champions Yokohama, who are part of the City Group, in Japan in 2019 when Postecoglou was manager. The pre-season tournament would be special for the Parkhead boss and a number of his squad. The Australian was in charge of Yokohama for more than 160 matches and guided the team to the league title in 2019. Both Daizen Maeda and Tomoki Iwata played for the club as well with the latter currently on loan but is expected to sign permanently in the summer.

The Nissan Stadium is expected to host the matches and can hold in excess of 70,000 fans.

Celtic set for Japan pre-season tournament, Manchester City involvement, Ange Postecoglou reunion, key dates

Comments