Nexen a sponsor of Euro soccer teams' U.S. tour

SEOUL, South Korea — Nexen Tire Corp. will be a sponsor of the 2017 International Champions Cup (ICC) tour of the U.S., with a dozen matches between leading European soccer teams at U.S. stadiums July 19-30.

James Kwon, CEO and president of Nexen Tire America Inc., said the decision to sponsor the tour is part of his company's strategy to grow brand awareness and market share in the U.S., which he described a "criticial market" for Seoul-based Nexen Tire.

Nexen is hoping for bonus exposure from the tournament, as Nexen also is a sponsor of Manchester City Football Club, which will be one of the eight teams participating in the tour. Manchester City players will be wearing jerseys with the Nexen Tire logo on the sleeves.

Nexen signed the league's first-ever sleeve sponsorship with Manchester City earlier this year after the English Premier League approved sleeve advertising for the 2017-18 season.

Manchester City will play three matches — July 20 vs. Manchester United at Houston's NRG Stadium; July 26 vs. Real Madrid CF at the Los Angeles Coliseum; and July 29 vs. Tottenham Hotspur at Memphis' Nissan Stadium.

As the official tire of 2017 International Champions Cup, Nexen Tire will be able to display its logo in all the stadiums through LED ad boards. In addition, the pre-match player line-up arch, through which players enter the stadium, will be branded with Nexen Tire's logo for the three matches involving Manchester City.

Nexen also has invited Carli Lloyd, a two-time American Olympic gold medalist and a Manchester City women's player, and Paul Dickov, a legendary player of Manchester City, to the "Manchester Derby" match on July 20, providing fans with the chance to take photos and receive autographs.

The other matches scheduled are:

AS Roma vs. Paris St.-Germain, July 19 at Comerica Park in Detroit; Juventus vs. FC Barcelona, July 22 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; Paris St.-Germain vs. Tottenham Hotspur, July 22 at Camping World Stadium in Orlanda, Fla.; Tottenham Hotspur vs. AS Roma, July 25 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.; FC Barcelona vs. Manchester United, July 26 at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.; Paris St.-Germain vs. Juventus, July 26 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami; Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona, July 29 at Hard Rock Stadium; and AS Roma Vs. Juventus, July 30 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

ESPN plans to broadcast the games.