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A different kind of football will be played on the field at Notre Dame stadium this Summer.
Liverpool FC, Borussia Dortmund (more colloquially known as BVB) and the University of Notre Dame announced today that the two clubs will play a friendly at ND on July 19 at 8 PM local time. The match will be the first of three in Liverpool’s 2019 preseason tour of the United States, which also includes stops at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.
America - we are coming.#LFCPreSeason pic.twitter.com/gfgIuGhkb6
— LFC USA (@LFCUSA) April 23, 2019
Tickets go on sale on Friday, April 26 at 10 AM CT through Ticketmaster.
In a press release, here’s what Jack Swarbrick had to say about the event:
“We are honored to partner with Fenway Sports Group and Fenway Sports Management in hosting Liverpool F.C. at historic Notre Dame Stadium. It combines iconic sport brands, celebrates a sport that is of great importance to us as evidenced by our four NCAA soccer titles and addresses the growing international reach of our University. We look forward to hosting Liverpool F.C. and invite its fans from throughout North America and the world to visit us for the match against Dortmund.”
For our readers unfamiliar with European soccer, here are some fast facts about both teams.
Liverpool FC
- The Reds are 18-time winners of the English Premier League, seven-time winners of the Football Association Cup, and five-time winners of the UEFA Champions League
- Their current star player is Egypt’s Mohammed Salah, Premier League player of the year for the 2017-2018 season and the league’s top goal scorer that year.
- They sit atop the Premier League with a little less than month left in the current season.
Borussia Dortmund
- Eight Bundesliga championships, four German Cup championships, and one UEFA Champions League title.
- Dortmund gained a number of American fans when they signed, arguably, the USA’s best player in Christian Pulisic back in 2015. It’s already been announced that Pulisic will leave leave the team this summer after signing with Chelsea in January.
- They are currently in second place in Bundesliga, whose season ends in May.
Some other notes about what to expect about the atmosphere on Match day: Notre Dame has stated that a new grass field will be installed before the game and there is expected to be an organized tailgate.
Despite ticket prices being expected to get close to $600 as we get closer to the event, the match will likely sell out. Liverpool played in front of a crowd of well over 100,000 at Michigan Stadium * eye roll * against Manchester United in 2018. Crowd sizes like that give new meaning to Liverpool’s team anthem of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
Both ND soccer programs have been expressing their excitement for the game on social media today, with good reasons. If you are a soccer fan, July 19 is bound to bound to be a fun day in South Bend.
We loved seeing @lfc's house this spring! We can't wait to welcome you here this summer!#LFCPreSeason #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/fweomlzUMB
— ND Men's Soccer (@NDMenSoccer) April 23, 2019