It’ll be a case of better late than never after it was confirmed on Thursday night in the United States that Notre Dame will face Navy in the opening game of the college football season at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, August 26th 2023.
The two sides were due to play at the Dublin venue in 2020 before the game was postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The 2021 game also fell victim to the travel restrictions with the first Aer Lingus College Football Classic scheduled to take place in August 2022 when the Northwestern University Wildcats take on the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, August 27th.
Organisers forecast that the game between the Notre Dame ‘Fighting Irish’ and the Navy will be worth €147 million directly to the Irish economy, with 40,000 fans expected to travel over from the US.
The teams previously met in Dublin in 2012, with Navy hosting Notre Dame in a sell-out fixture which saw 35,000 US visitors travel to Ireland. In total five games are scheduled for the series.
Welcoming the announcement of the match, which was made at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: "The past year and a half have been challenging for us all in Ireland and the United States. Today's announcement that Notre Dame will play its first ever home game in Ireland against Navy is extremely exciting and welcome news.
“The movement of this game to Ireland will provide a significant boost to our tourism and hospitality industries. We will have a very special welcome ready for the teams and supporters of Notre Dame and Navy when they visit us for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in August 2023.”
