Leeds United set for Dublin pre-season friendly against Man Utd

Leeds United and Manchester United are expecting to meet in a pre-season friendly at Dublin’s Croke Park this summer on Wednesday, August 12.

As first reported by Irish Independent, this would be the first time Croke Park, a Gaelic games stadium, has hosted two Premier League clubs. The venue can hold more than 82,000 at its full capacity.

Sources at Elland Road have indicated talks to finalise the fixture are 99 per cent complete, with final contracts to be signed off before it is made official.

The date of the match is important because events before the end of the current season could pose scheduling questions. Should Leeds be relegated, the new Championship season starts on Saturday, August 14. Similarly, the Community Shield clash at Wembley Stadium is slated for August 16, which Leeds would feature in if they were to win the FA Cup. The friendly would be approximately 10 days before the new Premier League season starts, which comes on the weekend of August 22-23.

Leeds would be returning to Ireland almost one year after playing AC Milan in a pre-season friendly at Aviva Stadium, the 51,711-seat venue elsewhere in Dublin, the Irish capital.

Unlike the smaller stadium in Lansdowne Road, Croke Park is not known for hosting football matches. It has been 17 years since the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) headquarters hosted such an event. Ireland lost 1-0 to France in a World Cup qualification play-off in November 2009.

Croke Park hosted an NFL match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings last September. There have also been Leinster Rugby matches held there over the past two years.

Croke Park is best known for hosting sports like Gaelic football and hurling. It is the largest stadium in Europe not usually used for football.