Chelsea linked to 2016 friendlies in Brazil along with Real Madrid and AC Milan

FutNet is reporting that Chelsea are among the elite clubs being courted for the 2016 "Amazon Cup", a friendly tournament in Brazil being played for the first time later this month. While the inaugural event is a four team affair consisting of two local clubs as well as Santos and the New York Cosmos, tournament organizers are thinking big in 2016.

At this point, there's nothing suggesting that Chelsea will actually be participating, but an event in South America would have to be fairly appealing for the board.The country certainly has facilities capable of hosting the world's biggest clubs after hosting the 2014 World Cup (as well as the 2016 Olympics), and increased exposure in South America is certainly something that every English team could use. In addition, I'm sure the growing contingent of Brazilian players under contract at Chelsea would love it, as would Brazilian fans who rarely get the chance to see their team play live.

We've still yet to hear any sort of announcement about a 2015 tour, and I'm sure it will be quite a while before anything official comes out involving this event. Still, it's an interesting link, especially considering many of Chelsea's European first team players will be involved in Euro 2016, giving the likely touring squad a very South American feel.