A record number of fans from the United States are expected to travel to Ireland later this summer for a college football game.
Tickets for the 2023 Aer Lingus College Football Classic are sold out, with The Irish Times reporting 40,000 fans are expected to journey across the Atlantic to watch Notre Dame play Navy. According to the article, this would set a record for the number of people traveling from the U.S. to watch an international sports event.
The game between the fierce college football rivals will take place Aug. 26 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Several American high school football teams will also be making the trip across the pond.
Last year’s game saw Northwestern defeat Nebraska 31-28. The Irish Times reports that an interesting note on the game was that fans being treated to free food and drinks as a technological glitch meant credit card payments could not be processed.
Padraic O’ Kane, co-founder and director of Aer Lingus College Football Classic, says the strength of ticket sales shows Ireland is the “home of college football outside of the United States.”
The 2024 game is set to see Georgia Tech face off against Florida State.
