So it’s now official – Cork will be the centre of attention when two great teams go head to head in one great stadium.
SupeValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh will host the inaugural Cork Super Cup on July 8th this year when current Scottish Premiership Champions Celtic FC travel to take on Cork City FC.
The Cork Super Cup is a joint initiative between Cork GAA and sports marketing agency Druid Sport to bring another record-breaking mid-summer event to the stadium.
The match will only be the third ever soccer match to be staged at the historic grounds, and the first competitive men’s game.
The winners will lift a specially commissioned Cork Super Cup trophy, designed by former Cork GAA legend Ger McCarthy.
The fixture is expected to be a sell out the and the Cork economy could be in line for a 6 million euro spin off.
Kevin O’Donovan, CEO of Cork GAA said: “This is another opportunity to share our stadium with the world, and help show Cork as an excellent destination for sports tourism.
We are fortunate that one of the world’s most successful soccer teams has agreed to return to Cork, and we have been engaging with Cork City FC to ensure that both sets of fans really enjoy the experience. Every event such as this generates funding streams that we can reinvest in the stadium, and in our own games, so everyone wins.”
Celtic FC have played Cork City in friendlies on Leeside before, including a famous 2-0 victory for the home side during a visit in 1992. A team of Celtic and Manchester United legends had taken on a team of Ireland legends at the stadium in 2018, in memory of the late Liam Miller.
Celtic FC manager Brendan Rodgers said: “We are delighted to be travelling to Cork to play in this fantastic match in the summertime.
We will be visiting a great stadium in a fine city and we are sure the game will be a wonderful occasion.
Celtic’s Irish connections are very important to the Club and we are sure there will be huge interest in the match. From my own perspective it will be great to be going home to Ireland but also from a footballing side we are really looking forward to the match against Cork City, which will be an important part of our preparations for next season.”
Cork City manager, Tim Clancy said: “We are lucky to have such an incredible fanbase at City, and know they will turn out in force to show Celtic what the Rebel Army is capable of.
We have enjoyed incredible support since the start of the League of Ireland Premier Division season, and the opportunity to place a fantastic team in Celtic at an iconic setting is one that both the team and the fans can look forward to.”
Season ticket holders with SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Celtic FC and Cork City FC will be able to purchase tickets from Wednesday, March 5th by following instructions that will be sent by email.
Tickets will go on general sale, including a limited number of family tickets, via http://www.corksupercup.com/tickets and Ticketmaster from 0900 on Friday morning, March 7th.
Follow Cork Super Cup on Instagram @corksupercup and on Facebook /CorkSuperCupOfficial
