For the first time since 2019, when Liverpool FC squared off against Borussia Dortmund in the Jurgen Klopp Cup (preseason version), Notre Dame Stadium will host world football. Or metric football; whatever you want to call it, as long as you don’t call it metric football.
Chelsea FC will take on Celtic on July 27th at the House that Rockne Built, and what could possibly sound more Gaelic than Celtic playing at the home of the Fighting Irish?
Roberto Di Matteo has touched down in Notre Dame! ??
We face @CelticFC there in late July. ?#BluesInTheUSA
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 19, 2024
Of course, Celtic is SCOTTISH and not Irish, but I am sure that won’t stop local media here from running with their fallacious narratives.
Beyond the Notre Dame Stadium affair, the Blues have four more matches set in the United States this summer. You can see the list below. August 3rd at Ohio Stadium, on the campus of THE Ohio Stadium University in Columbus, Ohio versus Manchester City, really stands out.
?? Our USA Tour schedule is now set: @RealMadrid and @ManCity will be our final two fixtures! ??#BluesInTheUSA
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 19, 2024
It’s a rematch of the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.