Here’s a friendly reminder to all you football fans out there: don’t miss the 2009 Peace Cup. It starts this Friday and runs through until the 2nd of August.

“Why should I spend so much precious time on said event?” I hear you say. Well, for one: Real Madrid will be there. In fact, there is a veritable plethora of superstar talent on offer amongst the twelve competing clubs. It’s no Club World Cup – yet. But that doesn’t mean that the entertainment is going to be any less thrilling. In fact, there are far more teams contesting the 2009 Peace Cup that boast household names than there were in last year’s CWC. Real Madrid, Aston Villa, Juventus, Sevilla, Porto, and reigning champions Lyon will all be there, plus many more.

The great thing about the competition is that, word is, none of the teams are going to pull their big names. So you can expect to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka line up for Real, Del Piero for Juventus, and Ashley Young for Aston Villa. Add to that the chance that Benzema might line up against his old club Lyon at some point during the tournament and you’ve got a recipe for awesomeness.

This will be the first time the Cup has been held outside of South Korea, and Spain is the ideal setting if its owners have any aspirations of making it a renowned biennial event. One of the best things about the competition is that teams from across the world are involved, not just European clubs. Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Ecuador, and South Korea will all be represented by their finest clubs, so be prepared for some unlikely upsets. Personally I’d love to see Real Madrid concede a loss early on in the tournament; if nothing else it would incite Los Blancos to become a tighter unit before they take on the greatest Spanish club of all time, Barcelona, in the upcoming La Liga season.

Stay tuned to BetUS as they will have odds on all the 2009 Peace Cup matches.