The Aer Lingus College Football Classic will stretch beyond the Aviva Stadium and American Football this week when Shelbourne FC Women welcome one of the most storied teams in the history of US college sport to Tolka Park.

Shelbourne will face the University of North Carolina women’s soccer team on Friday evening, August 28th, at 7 pm, on the eve of North Carolina taking on TCU in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva Stadium.

The game provides another strand to a week of activity built around the arrival of the two US universities in Dublin and brings a genuine powerhouse of the women’s game to one of Irish football’s most historic grounds.

The history of North Carolina women’s soccer is extraordinary.

The Tar Heels have won 23 national championships, including 22 NCAA titles, establishing a dynasty which has played a major role in the development of women’s football in the United States.

For more than four decades, UNC has also provided a pathway for many of the players who went on to shape the international game.

The most famous is Mia Hamm, twice FIFA World Player of the Year, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, and a World Cup winner with the United States.

Her fellow UNC alumni include Kristine Lilly, who earned a remarkable 354 international appearances for the USA; Cindy Parlow Cone, a World Cup winner and current President of US Soccer; Tobin Heath, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and two-time World Cup winner; Crystal Dunn, another World Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist; and Heather O’Reilly, who won three Olympic gold medals and the 2015 World Cup.

North Carolina’s success helped establish women’s soccer as one of the major collegiate sports in the United States, while generations of Tar Heels subsequently played on US national teams that drove the international growth and commercial development of the women’s game.

A Shelbourne Connection

There is a direct connection between the two clubs as well.

Shelbourne’s Maggie Pierce previously played college soccer at North Carolina, adding another dimension to Friday night’s encounter.

UNC Head Coach Damon Nahas has highlighted the opportunity for the Tar Heels to come up against one of their former players during a trip which is the programme’s first international team visit since 2011.

For Shelbourne, meanwhile, it provides an opportunity to bring a significant international sporting name to Tolka Park and showcase the club and the Women’s Premier Division to a travelling American audience.

Extending the Classic

The fixture is another example of how the Aer Lingus College Football Classic is evolving into something broader than the game at the Aviva Stadium.

The main event remains Saturday’s meeting of North Carolina and TCU, kicking off at 5 pm, but the programme around it increasingly touches education, business, tourism and other areas of Irish sport.

Earlier this week, we reported on the Leaders of Tomorrow Case Competition, which brought students from North Carolina and TCU together with counterparts from MTU and the University of Limerick to tackle challenges surrounding the 2027 Ryder Cup and UEFA EURO 2028.

Friday night’s visit to Tolka Park adds women’s football to that wider programme.

College sport is one of the most distinctive elements of the American sporting landscape, and bringing another of North Carolina’s elite programmes to Dublin gives Irish audiences an opportunity to experience another side of that culture.

It provides another example of how the value of bringing two major US universities to Ireland can reach well beyond the 60 minutes of American Football played at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Shelbourne FC Women v University of North Carolina takes place at Tolka Park at 7 pm on Friday, August 28th. North Carolina then face TCU in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva Stadium at 5 pm on Saturday, August 29th.

 

 

 

 

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Image Credit: Swing and Tonic

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