The University of Nebraska and Northwestern University kick off the 2022 football season Saturday in a unique setting. The schools will meet in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Although the matchup is not the first college football game to take place in Ireland, it is the first since 2016, according to Forbes. The Nebraska-Northwestern game is the start of a five-year, five-game Dublin series that’s meant to strengthen connections between Ireland and the United States.
Sponsors and organizers “see the games as ways to bring people to Ireland for extended periods, not just for the games,” Forbes reported.
The article noted that Northwestern and Nebraska players also adjusted their typical game-week travel schedule in order to acclimate to the new time zone and visit some tourist sites.
Bob Burton, Nebraska’s executive associate athletics director, told Forbes that his team would visit some of Dublin’s most famous sites, like Christ Church Cathedral.
More than 10,000 American football fans will enjoy a similar trip, according to Forbes.
“An estimated 13,000 people from the U.S. are expected to fly to Dublin for the game, including 10,000 Nebraska fans and 3,000 Northwestern fans. The organizers estimate that the total attendance will be about 36,000 in the 49,000-seat Aviva Stadium,” the article noted.
Has Ireland hosted football games before?
The 2022 College Football Classic marks the first time that an NCAA college football game will be played in Dublin since 2016. Games have taken place in Ireland off and on since the 1980s, Forbes reported.
“The first college football game in Ireland occurred in 1988 when Boston College defeated Army in the Emerald Isle Classic in Dublin. Since then, the country has hosted several more games, the last occurring in 2016 when Georgia Tech defeated Boston College,” the article said.
Irish organizers often invite teams like the University of Notre Dame with connections to Irish culture or the country’s majority religion: Catholicism. Forbes highlighted the links between the Northwestern football program and Ireland.
“Many at the school and in the Chicago-area has strong connections to Ireland. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern’s longtime coach, is Irish American, as is the influential Ryan family, which last year gave $480 million to Northwestern, the largest gift in the school’s history,” the article said.
What other countries have hosted NCAA football games?
Ireland is not the only foreign country to host NCAA football. Best College Sports News Network reported that the first all-Big Ten foreign game took place between Wisconsin and Michigan State in 1993 in Tokyo.
Nebraska also played in Japan in the 1990s, the article said.
The last international game took place in 2017 in Australia, which was also the site of a BYU-Colorado State game in 1987, according to SB Nation.
When is the next football game in Ireland?
College football will return to Dublin next fall. The 2023 College Football Classic will feature the University of Notre Dame and Navy, schools that have met in Ireland before.
“Organizers expect about 40,000 Americans will travel to Ireland for the Notre Dame-Navy game,” Forbes reported.