Cork City set to face Celtic in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Tuesday, July 8
Adam Idah, who is excited to be part of the Celtic squad for their visit to Cork in July to face Cork City in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
Cork City are set to play Celtic in a marquee friendly on Tuesday, July 8 at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The Rebel Army will meet a treble-chasing Hoops side that will have Douglas native Adam Idah in their ranks.
It is unclear at this moment in time how the friendly will be managed over the nature of the terraces at the venue, as such structures are banned under UEFA regulations, although this issue is expected to be sorted out, with a capacity attendance of 45,000 expected. Without the terraces, a crowd of 23,000 would be the maximum.
The fixture marks the culmination of a long process of complex negotiations, with rumours first arising of the possibility of a friendly in December 2024.
Full details of the event are to be confirmed in March, for what will be just the third-ever soccer match played at the home of Cork GAA.
2018 saw a fundraiser for Liam Miller between a Republic of Ireland XI and Celtic/Manchester United XI, and the women's national team hosted France there last summer as part of the UEFA Nations League.
The Girls in Green took on Les Bleues in front of 18,399 people, and a stand-out performance from Denise O'Sullivan helped the team record a famous 3-1 win. The Knocknaheeny native opened the scoring that night, while Megan Connolly got an assist.
The Girls in Green coming back to Cork is a real possibility this year, as the FAI are looking into bringing one game down to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh after the success of the Les Bleues visit.
Brendan Rodgers' side are currently on top of the Scottish Premiership and they have a 13-point cushion before the split.
Celtic are also into the quarter-finals for the Scottish Cup, and they will play Hibernian next month at that stage of the competition at Parkhead. This means that the club come to Cork on the back of a treble success.
They also reached the Champions League knock-out round play-offs and suffered a narrow loss to German giants Bayern Munich.
Idah has been instrumental to this success, and his run with the club has included a dramatic late-winner in the 2024 Scottish Cup final against Rangers. The striker also netted the goal that ensured progression to the knock-out rounds of the Champions League for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
Cork City will go into the friendly between league games against Shelbourne at Tolka Park and Waterford at the RSC.
The Rebel Army's trip to Tolka Park could be moved or played earlier in the season over Damien Duff's side being involved in the Champions League qualifiers.
The Celtic fixture slots in, where the club traditionally hosts English teams looking for preseason action.
Stoke City, Birmingham, Leeds, a Liverpool XI, a Manchester United XI, and Burnley are some of the sides to visit Turner's Cross in recent years.
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