Manchester United And Leeds Sell Out Croke Park Before The Season Has Even Started

Manchester United and Leeds United will play a pre-season friendly in front of more than 82,000 people in Dublin on Wednesday after selling out Croke Park.

The two Premier League clubs meet at Ireland’s largest stadium as part of their preparations for the new season, with all available tickets for the fixture having been sold despite there being no league points at stake.

Croke Park has a capacity of around 82,300 and is one of the largest stadiums in Europe, normally serving as the home of Gaelic football and hurling rather than English club football. Wednesday’s game will be the first soccer fixture staged there since the Republic of Ireland faced France in a World Cup play-off in 2009.

Manchester United and Leeds announced the friendly in April, with the rivalry between the clubs being brought to Ireland for the first time. By early August the fixture had already sold out, leaving supporters without tickets reliant on resale sites or television coverage.

The size of the crowd will make the match the best-attended soccer fixture in the history of the Irish state, surpassing the crowd of around 73,000 which watched Ireland face France at the same stadium in 2009.

Both teams are still using the match primarily to build fitness, assess players and prepare for the Premier League campaign.

More than 82,000 people have decided this is sufficient reason to attend.